COLUMBIA UMIVERS 



NDO'-IRANIAN SERIES 



Volume 8 



VASAVADATTA 

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 



SUBANDHU 




VASAVADATTA 

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



INDO-IRANIAN SERIES 



EDITED BY 

A. V. WILLIAMS JACKSON 

PROFESSOR OF INDO-IRANIAN LANGUAGES 
IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



Volume 8 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 
1913 

All rights reserved 



VASAVADATTA 

A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 

BY 

SUBANDHU 



TRANSLATED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
AND NOTES, BY 

LOUIS H. GRAY, Ph.D. 

/ 




COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 
1913 

Ail rights reserved 



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7 



PRINTED FROM TYPE BY HORACE HART, M.A. 
OXFORD, ENGLAND 
JANUARY, 1 91 3 



TO PROFESSOR A. V. WILLIAMS JACKSON 

My Dear Guru — That you consented, on one of the many 
occasions that I have been privileged to be your guest, to accept 
the dedication of this translation of India's oldest formal romance, 
has ever been to me a source of keenest joy. It is to you that 
I owe my knowledge of India and her sister land, Iran ; and to 
you I am indebted, as to a guru indeed — that word which no 
tongue can truly translate — for so much that makes for true 
manhood, without which, as without charity, mere knowledge is 
but * as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.' I have tried 
to make my work, here as always, worthy both of you and 
of Columbia, to which we are each so loyal. Generously you 
have helped me, even when your leisure was most limited, and 
gratefully I acknowledge your aid ; for of you I can say with 
all my heart, as the Irish host of legend cried to their hero, 
Cailte, Adrae buaid ocus bennachtain ; is mor in fis ocus in 
faillsiugud firinde doberi duind ar each ni fiarfaigther dit, 
* Success and benison attend thee ; great is the lore and the 
disclosure of truth which thou givest us upon all that is asked 
of thee ! ' 

L. H. G. 



PREFACE 

The precept of Horace, nonum premattir in annum ^ has been 
more than obeyed in this volume, for it was on November 3, 
1 901, that I began the translation of the Vdsavadattd. From 
that day Subandhu's romance has never been long absent from 
my thoughts^ although many practical exigencies, some of them 
not wholly agreeable to a scholar, have forced me again and 
again to lay the task aside, often for six months at a stretch. 
Yet these clouds, too, have had their silver lining, for not only 
has my work thus had time to ripen, but much has appeared 
bearing on the novel during these intervals, or has been called 
to my attention by friends. The first draft of the translation was, 
for example, almost completed when, in March, 1903, Dr. George 
C. O. Haas noted for me an entry in a catalogue of Stechert, of 
New York, which enabled me to purchase a copy of the edition of 
the Vdsavadattd printed in Telugu script at Madras in i86a. This 
necessitated a renewed study of the text in comparison with the 
edition of Hall, and ultimately led me to include a transliteration 
of the ' southern ' recension in my work, together with the variants 
of all the other editions. Some of these would have been 
inaccessible to me, had it not been for the courtesy of the India 
Office, which, at the instance of Mr. F. W. Thomas, its librarian, 
most generously loaned me the texts I needed, so that I might 
use them at leisure in my own study. 

Excepting the blank-verse renderings of the few Sanskrit stanzas 
of the Vdsavadattd, I have sought to make the translation as literal 
as the English language would permit, and throughout I have 
spared no pains to facilitate reference to the original text, as 
well as to explain each allusion that I could elucidate. In the 
latter regard I have considered others than professed Sanskritists, 
for I have ventured to hope that some copies of the work may 

vii 



viii PREFACE 

fall into the hands of students of literature, who may here find 
points of similarity to, or divergence from, the writings to which 
their special attention may be directed. I dare not flatter 
myself that I have invariably hit the true meaning of the original, 
for there are passages which repeated study, through these eleven 
years, has failed to solve to my own complete satisfaction. But 
even for this I scarcely grieve, for, like Propertius, I feel, 
Quod si deficiant uires^ audacia certe 
Laus erit: in magnis et Moluisse sat est. 
And if the cruces that have baffled me shall be solved by other 
minds, none will feel greater joy in their success than I. 

It is with a feeling almost akin to regret that I lay down my 
pen. Perhaps to me the Vdsavadatta has deeper associations 
than to almost any one else who has laboured on it. In hours 
of bitterness and sorrow it has helped me to forget ; and it has 
heightened the pleasure of happy days. With all its faults, 
I love it ; possibly I have even been so blind as to reckon its 
failings virtues ; possibly, too, the innate Anglo-Saxon sympathy 
for the ^ under dog ' has made me only the more determined in 
its praise. Is it worth while, or not ? As the Arabs say, Alldhu 
dlamUy ' God best knows (and man can't tell).' 

I am happy to have had, in my work, the assistance of many 
friends — Mr. Thomas and Dr. Haas, to whom I have already 
alluded ; others to whose courtesies reference will be made in the 
course of the book — Dr. George A. Grierson, Professor Theodor 
Zachariae, Mr. Richard Hall ; Professor Washburn Hopkins, 
whose notes aided in introducing me to the mysteries of 
Grantha script ; Professor Charles R. Lanman, who enabled me 
to use the Harvard copy of Hall's edition until I could procure 
my own — a courtesy which had already been accorded me for 
a year previous by the library of the Deutsche Morgenlandische 
Gesellschaft ; Mr. T. K. Balasubrahmanya, who replied in full 
to my queries concerning the ' southern ' text ; and Mr. G. 
Payn Quackenbos, who called my attention to the reference to 
Subandhu in the Subhdsitaratnabkdnddgdra, while to Dr. Charles 
J. Ogden I am indebted for a number of helpful suggestions and 



PREFACE ix 

corrections, particularly in the Introduction. In a very special 
way my thanks are due also to Mr. Alexander Smith Cochran, 
whose interest in the Columbia University Indo-Iranian Series 
has rendered possible the printing of this particular volume. 

My gratitude to my friend and teacher, Professor A. V. Wil- 
liams Jackson — here editor as well — is more fittingly expressed 
elsewhere within these covers. Suffice it to say that he read 
with me word by word the second of the three drafts of this 
translation, and that wellnigh every page bears some token of 
his careful scholarship. And to one other — my wife — my deepest 
obligations are due for whatsoever may be best in my work. 
She has subjected every line to a most minute and unsparing 
revision, besides taking upon herself the arduous task of pre- 
paring my manuscript for the press. Her interest in the work 
has never faltered, and to her criticism, at once most kindly and 
most severe, I owe more than I can tell. 

Louis H. Gray. 

November 25, iqtjz. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface vii 

Abbreviations xii 

Introduction i 

Translation 43 

Transcription 143 

Bibliography 197 

Lexicographical Appendix . . . . . . izoo 



XI 



ABBREVIATIONS 



ad loc. 

apud 

bis 

cf. 

EI. 

H. 

lA. 

Introd. 

JAOS. 

JASBe. 

JRAS. 

JRASBo. 

KZ. 



I.e. 
M. 

No. 
n. p. 
op. cit. 
pp. 
S. 

sqq. 
s.v. 

SWAW. 
Tel. ed. 



Tel. ed. 6i = 



(ad locum), on the passage. 

in. 

twice. 

compare. 

Epigraphia Indica. 

Hall's edition of the Vasavadatta. 

Indian Antiquary. 

Introduction. 

Journal of the American Oriental Society. 

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Bombay Branch. 

Zeitschrift fiir vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem 

Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen, ed. A. Kuhn 

and others. 
{loco citato^, at the place previously cited, 
edition of the Vasavadatta in Telugu script printed at 

Madras in 1862. 
number, 

no place of publication given. 
{opus cttatum\ the work previously cited, 
pages, 
edition of the Vasavadatta printed at Srirangam in 1906- 

1908. 
{sequentes), following. 
{sub verbo) under the word. 

Sitzungsberichte der Wiener Akademie der Wissenschaften. 
edition of the Vasavadatta in Telugu script printed at 

Madras in 1862. 
edition of the Vasavadatta in Telugu script printed at 

Madras in 1861. 



V. 

WZKM. 
ZDMG. 



= verse. 



Wiener Zeitschrift fiir die Kunde des Morgenlandes. 
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft. 



Xll 



ABBREVIATIONS xiii 

* = when prefixed to a word or meaning in the lexicographical 

appendix, such word or meaning is cited by the 
St. Petersburg lexicons only on the authority of native 
Sanskrit lexicographers. 

° = when prefixed to a word or meaning in the lexicographical 

appendix, such word or meaning is entirely omitted by 
the St. Petersburg lexicons ; elsewhere it denotes the 
omission of words or parts of words to be supplied 
from the context. 

< > = single paronomasia. 

4j ^ = double paronomasia. 

«< >» = triple paronomasia. 

( ) = when placed around or in words of the transcribed text, 

the enclosed portions differ from the text of Hall ; 
when placed around numerals in the translation and 
transcription, these refer to the pages of the Madras 
edition of 1862. 

[ ] = when placed around or in words of the transcribed text, 

the enclosed portions, though contained in Hall's 
edition, are entirely omitted by the Madras edition of 
1862 ; when placed around numerals in the translation 
and transcription, these refer to the pages of Hall's 
edition. 



INTRODUCTION 

Title. The title of the Vdsavadattd of Subandhu, the oldest 
romantic novel in India, seems to be derived from that of a long 
lost drama by Bhasa,^ the Svapnavdsavadattd^ or ' Dream-Vasa- 
vadatta ' (for compounds of this type cf. Wackernagel, Altindische 
Grammatik, %. i. 244-245, 250-253, Gottingen, 1905). The 
dream as a novelistic device in India first occurs in Subandhu 
(see below, p. 28) ; though in the drama it is found in the first 
act of the Viddhasdlabhanjikd and the third of the Karpurama- 
njari (both written by Rajasekhara, who was acquainted with 
Bhasa's work), as well as in the first of Visvanathabhatta's 
Srngdravdtikd {Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts in the 
Library of the India Office, 7, 161 8, London, 1904). In the fifth 
act of Bhasa's Svapnavdsavadattd the hero, King Vatsaraja, 
sleeping, dreams of his love Vasavadatta, who enters, disguised 
as an attendant of the queen, but who, he thinks, has been 
burned to death at Lavanaka (cf, svapnavdsavadattasya ddhako, 
* the conflagration of the " Dream-Vasavadatta " ' [Rajasekhara, 
cited in the Suktimuktdvali (see Peterson and Durgaprasada, 
Subhdsitdvali of Vallabhadeva^ Introd., p. 81, Bombay, 1886)], 
and Bhasa's epithet jalanamitta, ' friend of fire,' in Gaiidavaha, 
v. 800), this being employed both in the famous fire-scene in the 
fourth act of the Ratndvall (first half of the seventh century) 
and in the Tdpasavatsardja (before the second half of the ninth 
century ; see the analysis by Hultzsch, in Nachrichten von der 
koniglichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Gottingeiz, 1886, 
pp. 224-241). Not only was the fire-scene thus borrowed from 
Bhasa by later dramatists, but from him, it may be conjectured, 
came, at least in literary form, the entire story of Vasavadatta 
and Udayana, or Vatsaraja, as given in the Ratndvall^ Priya- 

* On Bhasa, see, in general, Hall, * Fragments of Three Early Hindu Dramatists,' 
m/^ASBe. 28. 28-29; Levi, Tkiatre inaien, i. 157-160, 2. 31-32, Paris, 1890. 

B 



J 



2 vAsavadattA 

darsikd, and Tdpasavatsardja} the ultimate source probably- 
being the lost Brhatkathd. With the Vasavadatta of these latter 
works Subandhu's heroine has only her name in common, nor 
is any other story concerning her known to exist in Sanskrit 
literature (cf. Krishnamachariar, Introd., pp. 48-50 ; Lacote, 
Essai sitr Gunddhya et la Brhatkathd^ pp. 15-16, Paris, 1908). 
Though sleeping on the stage is forbidden by Sanskrit drama- 
turgy, the hero of the Svapnavdsavadattd dreams of the heroine, 
an episode imitated, I would suggest, by Rajasekhara in his 
Viddhasdlahhanjikd and Karpuramanjarz. In similar fashion 
Subandhu seems to have derived from this play ^ both the dream- 
episode and the name of his heroine, who was indeed a ' dream- 
Vasavadatta ' ; and it would then appear that he invented the 
remainder of the romance. This is also the opinion of Krishna- 
machariar (Introd., pp. 48, 50), who suggests, however, that 
Subandhu may have adapted some old wives' tale. 

Author. The author of the Vdsavadattd was the only Suban- 
dhu to win for himself a name in Sanskrit literature, unless 
exception be made in favour of Subandhu, son of Gopayana or 
LopayanajWho, according to the Sarvdnukramam {ed, Macdonell, 
p. 19, Oxford, 1886), was one of the four authors of Rig- Veda 
5. 24 (cf. the legend concerning him in Brhaddevaid, 7. 84-102, 
ed. and tr. Macdonell, Cambridge, Mass., 1904). The name, 
however, occurs with tolerable frequency in Sanskrit (cf. Bohtlingk 
and Roth, Sanskrit-Worterbuch, 7. 1086, St. Petersburg, 1875), 
and it would even seem to be found, under the form §u-ba-an-di, or 
Su-ba-an-du, in one of the Tell-el-Amarna Tablets, dating approxi- 
mately from the fourteenth or fifteenth century B. c. (Winckler, 
Thontafeln von Tell-el-Amarna^ Nos. 224-229, Berlin, 1896). 



^ To this list Krishnamachariar (Introd., p. 37) adds the lost drama Udayanacarita 
(cf. Levi, Theatre indien, 1.92; 2. 39, Paris, 1890; SdhwylQX , Bibliography of the 
Sanskrit Drama, p. 90, New York, 1906). 

2 In May, 1910, the Svapnavdsavadattd and nine other dramas of Bhasa were dis- 
covered near Padmanabhapura by Ganapati Sastrl, who later found another manu- 
script containing, among other plays, a second copy of the Svapnavdsavadattd. These 
dramas were edited, after this introduction was already in type, in the Trivandrum 
Sanskrit Series. 



INTRODUCTION 3 

Sanskrit References to Subandhu. References in Sanskrit 
literature and inscriptions to our Subandhu (whose date is dis- 
cussed below, pp. 8-1 1 ) are but scanty. By far the most important 
allusion is contained in the eleventh stanza of Bana's introduction 
to h\s Harsacarita (seventh century) ; 

kavindm agalad darpo nunam vdsavadattayd 
saktye "va pdndupictrdndm gatayd karnagocaram^ 

* verily, the pride of < poets > melted away through the « Vdsava- 
dattd coming to their ears » even as the pride of the < sages > 
melted away through the Pandavas' « Indra-given spear coming 
nigh Karna ».' ^ Bana is also supposed to allude to the Vdsava- 
dattd when, in the twentieth stanza of his introduction to his 
Kddambarz, he declares his new work to be iyam atidvayi kathd, 

* this story surpassing the two,' these being, according to the 
commentator, the Vdsavadattd and the Brhatkathd. About a 
century later Vakpati, the author of the Prakrit historical poem 
Gaiidavaha^^rote (v. 800), in describing himself: 

bhdsammi jalanamitte kanfideve ajassa rahudre 
sobandhave a handhanimi hdriyaiide a dnando, 

' in Bhasa — the friend of fire — in the author of the Raghu 
(vainsa) — that lord of beauty — in Subandhu's work, and in that 
of Haricandra is his delight.' In Kaviraja's Rdghavapdndaviya, 
which dates from about 1200 A. D., occurs the stanza (i. 41) : 

subandhur bdnabhattas ca kavirdja iti trayah 
vakrokthndrganipicnds caturtho vidyate na vd, 

' Subandhu, Banabhatta, and Kaviraja — these three be skilful in 
the path of ambiguity ^ ; a fourth there is not found.' The 

^ This verse is interpolated at the end of the Vdsavadattd by the Telugn and Grantha 
editions, and Krishnamachariar (Introd., pp. 38-39) implies that it may have been 
\vritten by Subandhu and later have found its way into the Harsacarita. His theory 
is to me untenable. On the use of the signs < >, etc., see p. 17. 

"^ Onvakrokti ZQe Sdhityadarpaita, No. 641 ; Appayyadiksita, Kuvalaydnandakdrikd, 
I. 158-159; Kdvyaprakdsa, tr. Jha, pp. 181-182, Benares, 1898; Bernheimer and 
Jacobi, in ZDMG. 63. 797-821; 64. 130-139, 586-590, 751-759; 65. 308-312. 
Subandhu is also mentioned immediately before Bana in the Sarasvatikanthdbkarana 
according to Miiller, India, What can it Teach zis?, p. 331, note 5, London, 1883, 
but I have not been able to find the reference. 

B 2 



4 VASAVADATTA 

twelfth- century ^rikanthacarita of Mankha contains the stanza 

7nenthe svardviradddhirohini vasam ydte subandhdu vidheh 
sdnte hanta ca bhdravdu vighatite bdne visddasprsah 
vdgdevyd viramantu mantuvidhurd drdg drstayas cestate 
sistah kascana sa prasddayati tdm yadvdnisadvdninl, 

' Mentha having mounted the elephant of the sky [i.e., having 
died], Subandhu having yielded to the will of destiny, Bharavi, 
alas, being at rest, and Bana being broken, let the reason-reft 
glances of the sorrow-stricken goddess of speech [Sarasvati] 
quickly find repose ; for any one left that bestirreth himself doth 
win her, to whose voice she is a goodly dancer.' Two centuries 
later, Sarngadhara, quoting Rajasekhara (cf. above, p. i), who 
flourished about 900 A. D., in his Paddhati (cf. Aufrecht, ' Ueber 
die Paddhati von Carngadhara,' in ZDMG. i^."]"] \ Sdrhgadha- 
rapaddhati, ed. Peterson, i. No. 188, Bombay, 1888), made the 
citation : 

bhdsd rdmilasdumildu vararucih srisdhasdhkah kavir 
mmtho bhdravikdliddsataraldh skandhah stcbandkus ca yah 
dandl bdnadivdkardu ganapatih kdntas ca ratndkarah 
siddhd yasya sarasvati bhagavati ke tasya sarve 'pi te^ 

* Bhasa, Ramila, Saumila, Vararuci, the poet Sahasanka, Mentha, 
Bharavi, Kalidasa, Tarala, Skandha, and Subandhu, Dandin, 
Bana, Divakara, Ganapati, and the charming Ratnakara, — what 
are all they to him by whom the exalted Sarasvati is possessed ' ? 
Rajasekhara also refers to Subandhu in the following stanza 
quoted by Aufrecht {ZDMG, 36. 2)^6) from the Saduktikarnd- 
mrta (cf. also Peterson and Durgaprasada, Subhdshitdvali of 
Vallabhadeva, Introd., p. ^J^ Bombay, 1886; Krishnamachariar, 
Introd., p. 41) : 

subandhdu bhaktir nah ka iha raghukdre na ramate 
dhrtir ddkslputre harati haricandro 'pi hrdayam 

visuddhoktih surah prakrtimadhurd bhdravigiras 

tathd "py antarmodam kam api bhavabhutir vitanutiy 



INTRODUCTION 5 

' in Subandhu is our delight ; who rejolceth not in the author 
of the Raghuiyamsd) ^ ? satisfaction delighteth in the son of 
Daksi^; even Haricandra joyeth the heart ; of faultless diction 
is Sura ^ ; the words of Bharavi are delightsome in theme ; 
Bhavabhuti doth infuse an inward pleasure.' Krishnamachariar 
also cites an allusion to the author of the Vdsavadattd in Abhi- 
navabhattabana's Virandrdyanacarita (/. c) : 

pratikavibheda7iahdnah kavitdtarttgahanaviharanamayurah 
sahrdayaldkasubandhtir jayati srlbhattabdnakavirdjah^ 

* victorious is the noble Bhattabana, king of poets, an arrow [or, 
" a Bana "] for piercing hostile poets ; a peacock [or, " a Mayura "] 
for wandering through the forest of the trees of poetry ; a goodly 
kinsman [or, " a Subandhu "] for all connoisseurs.' An anony- 
mous citation in the modern anthology Stibhdsitaratnabhdnddgdra 
(ed. Parab, 3 ed., p. ^6^ Bombay, 1891) runs: 

'jndghas cdro mayuro imtraripitr aparo bhdravih sdravidyah 
srlharsah kdliddsah kavir atha bhavabhutydhvayo bhojardjah 
srldandi dindimdkhyah snitimukutagttrtir bhallato bhattabdnah 
khydtds cd 'nye sitbandhvddaya iha krtibhir visvam dhlddayanti, 

' Magha, Cora, Mayura, Mura's second foe (Murari), Bharavi in 
climax learned, Harsa, Kalidasa, and also the poet named 
Bhavabhuti, Bhojaraja, Dandin (hight " the Drum "), Bhallata 
weighty with the diadem of fame, Bhattabana, and other renowned 
ones, such as Subandhu, here on earth rejoice the universe with 
their compositions.' 

In the latter part of the sixteenth century, Ballala, in his 
Bhojaprabandha, which he set forth as a history of Bhoja, who 
ruled at Dhara (the modern Dhar) in the eleventh century, 
mentioned Subandhu, according to some manuscripts, as one 
of the thirteen principal members of the host of five hundred 
literati who graced the royal court (cf. Wilson, Works ^ 5. 174, 
London, 1865 ; Hall, Introd., p. 7, note i) ; but the list varies so 
extremely in the different manuscripts of the Bhojaprabandha 

^ Kalidasa. ^ Panini. 

3 See Aufrecbt, Catalogus Catalogonivi, i. 660, Leipzig, 1891. 



6 VASAVADATTA 

that little stress can be laid upon it, especially in view of the 
legendary character of the work as a whole. Finally, mention 
should also be made, for the sake of completeness, of an apparent 
allusion to the Vdsavadattd in Dandin's Dasakumdracarita (ed. 
Godabole and Parab, p. no, lines ii-iij, Bombay, 1898): 
amirupahhartrgdminlndm ca vdsavadattddindm varnanena grd- 
hayd ^nusayam^ ' and make her repent by a description of 
Vasavadatta and others who gained suitable husbands.' This 
clearly refers, however, to the well-known story of Vasavadatta 
and Udayana (see above, p. 2) ; and it is equally impossible 
that the vdsavadattdm adhikrtya krto granthah mentioned in 
the Vdrttika (probably third century B.C.) on Panini, 4. 3. 87, 
should be connected in any way with Subandhu's romance. 

It should also be noted that Narasimha Vaidya, one of the 
glossators of the Vdsavadattd^ says : kavir ayam vikramdditya- 
sabhyah. tasmin rdjni lokdntaram prdpte etan nibandham krtavdn, 
* this poet [Subandhu] was a retainer of Vikramaditya. When 
this king attained the other world, he [Subandhu] composed this 
work' (Hall, Introd., p. 6, note). Hall's manuscript D, more- 
over, which belongs to what I may tentatively call the ' South 
Indian recension ' of the Vdsavadattd (see below, p. 38), terms 
Subandhu ' the son of Vararuci's sister ' {srlvararucibhdgineya\ 
Vararuci himself being, as is well known, one of the ' nine gems ' 
of Vikramaditya's court, flourishing at least later than the fifth 
century (Bloch, Vararuci und Hemacandra^ p. 33, Giitersloh, 
1893 ; cf. Macdonell, History of Sanskrit Literature^ p. 334, 
London. 1900). Hall denies that Subandhu was Vararuci's 
nephew (Introd., pp. 6-7), but it is possible that the tradition 
contains a [larger element of truth than is often supposed (cf. 
Wilson, Works, 5. 177, London, 1865). It is, at all events, 
echoed by the Bhojaprabandha^ — whatever be the value assigned 
to such testimony — which associates Subandhu and Vararuci in 
the passage already referred to. 

Inscriptions of India mention Subandhu only once to my 
knowledge. This single instance is a Canarese record of 11 68 
A. D., found at Balagami (Rice, Mysore Inscriptions, p. m, 



INTRODUCTION 7 

Bangalore, 1879), which contains the words: * In sabda a Panini 
pandita, in iiiti Bhusanacarya, in ndtya and other bharata sdstras 
Bharatamuni, in kdvya Subandhu, in siddhdnta Lakulisvara, at 
the feet of Siva a Skanda adorning the world, thus is Varna 
Saktiyati truly described.' The only additional information thus 
gained is that by the twelfth century his fame had spread to 
southern India. 

Subandhu's Allusions to Sanskrit Literatiu'e. If Subandhu 
is thus recognised but sparingly and indefinitely in the literature 
and epigraphy of his native land, he is himself most generous in 
alluding to the productions of other authors. The majority of 
his references, however, cast little light upon his date, for no real 
conclusions can be drawn from his mention of the Brhatkathd 
(ed. Hall, pp. no, 147), the Kdmasutra (ed. Hall, p. 89), the 
Chandoviciti section of the Bhdratiyandtyasdstra (ed. Hall, 
pp. 94, note, IT 9, i'>,^i the Mahdbhdrata and Harivamsa (ed. 
Hall, pp. 2ij 27, 93, 234, 254 ; on Subandhu's indebtedness to 
the Mahdbhdrata see Cartellieri, ' Das Mahabharata bei Subandhu 
und Bana,' in WZKM. 13. 57-74), the Rdmdyana (ed. Hall, 
p. 234), the Upanisads (ed. Hall, p. 235), and the Mimamsa and 
Nyaya philosophies (ed. Hall, pp. 93, 235, 297), any more than 
we can derive any definite conclusions from his general and 
hostile mention of the Buddhists (ed. Hall, pp. 144, 179, 235, 
%^% 297 bis) and Jains (ed. Hall, pp. 93, 187, 297 ; cf. on these 
allusions to the Buddhists and the Jains Telang, ' Subandhu and 
Kumarila,' in JRASBo, 18. 150-159).! 

It has been held, on the basis of Sivarama's commentary, that 
the words bdiiddhasangatim ivd Hamkdrabhusitdm^ ' decked with 
<adornments> as an assembly of Buddhists is decked with the 
<Alamkdray (ed. Hall, p. 235), refer to the Bdiiddhasangatyalam- 
kdra of Dharmakirti (cf., in general, on Dharmakirti, Pathak, 
*DharmakIrti and Samkaracharya,' in JRASBo, 18. 88-96, and 

1 Reference should also be made, in this connexion, to the allusions collected in 
Krishnamachariar's Introduction, received after these lines were written, to other 
Sanskrit literature, especially the Mahdbhdrata and Rdmdyana^ as well as to religion 
and philosophy (pp. 22-24, 27-28}. 



8 VASAVADATTA 

the criticism of Telang, ib. i8. 148-150). Since, however, 
Dharmakirti is described by I-Tsing, who travelled in India 
in 671-695 A. D., as among those ' of late years ' {Record of the 
Buddhist Religion^ tr. Takakusu, p. 181, cf. p. Iviii, Oxford, 1896) ; 
and since Taranatha {Geschichte des Buddhismus in Indien^ tr. 
Schiefner, pp. 184-185, St. Petersburg, 1869) makes him a con- 
temporary of the Tibetan king, Srong-btsan-sgam-po, who died 
about 650 A. D. (Duff, Chronology of India^ p. ^'3^^ Westminster, 
1899), Levi ('La Date de Candragomin,' in Bulletin de VEcole 
d' Extreme-Orient^ 1903, p. 18 ; cf. Kern, Manual of Indian 
Buddhism^ p. 130, note 11, Strassburg, 1896) is doubtless right 
in denying that Subandhu makes any allusion to Dharmakirti's 
activity (for an opposing view see Krishnamachariar, Introd., p. 3a). 

This leaves but a single literary allusion in the Vdsavadatta 
which can in any way be construed as casting light on the date 
of the romance. The reference in question is nydyasthitim ivo 
' ddyotakarasvarupdm, ' <revealing her beauty> as the permanence 
of the Nyaya system has its <form from Uddyotakara> ' (ed. Hall, 
p. l^S)' Since we know that Uddyotakara wrote his Nydya- 
vdrttika to refute the heterodox (i.e.^ Buddhist) views of DIgnaga, 
who flourished between 520 and 600 A. D. (Kern, op. cit. p. 129 ; 
MUller, Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, p. 477, London, 1899), 
it is obvious that Uddy5takara, to whom Subandhu so unmis- 
takably refers, can not have lived before the latter part of the 
sixth century. It is, therefore, certain that the Vdsavadatta can 
not be prior to the late sixth century of our era. 

The Date of Subandhu. There is but one allusion in Subandhu's 
romance itself which can be interpreted as referring to a historical 
event. This is the tenth introductory stanza : 

sd rasavattd vihatd navakd vilasanti carati no kam kah^ 
sarasl 'va kirtisesarn gatavati bhtivi vikramdditye^ 

*<moisture> is destroyed, ^cranes sport not», «<the heron fares 
not forth»> ; yea, <eloquence> is destroyed, «new-comers make 

1 The theory of Mazumdar {JRAS. 1907, pp. 406-408), that the ka77i kah of this 
stanza involves an allusion to a Kahka dynasty, must be regarded as not proven. 



INTRODUCTION 9 

disport», «<who devours not whom»> ? — for Vikramaditya, like 
a lake, hath passed away on earth.' This has been taken, 
particularly by Hall (Introd., p. 6), to imply that Subandhu 
' lived long posterior to the great Vikramaditya of Ujjayinl.' 
Although some deny that this monarch, about whom cluster so 
many legends, ever existed (see, for example, Macdonell, History 
of Sanskrit Literature^ pp. 323-324, London, 1900), such a view 
can scarcely be supported, and there is good reason to believe 
him to be identical with Candragupta II, who reigned from about 
374 to 413 (Smith, Early History of India from 600 B.C. to the 
Muhammadan Conquest^ 2 ed., pp. 275-283, Oxford, 1908). It 
would be most tempting, so far as the special problems of the Vdsa- 
vadattd are concerned, could one accept the view, argued with 
great learning by Hoernle (' Some Problems of Ancient Indian 
History,' in jfRAS. 1903, pp. 545-570, and 'The Identity of 
Yasodharman and Vikramaditya, and some Corollaries,' ib. 1909, 
pp. 89-144 ; against this Fleet, ' Dr. Hoernle's Article on Some 
Problems of Ancient Indian History,' ib. 1904, pp. 164-166, and 
Smith, ' The Indian Kings named Siladitya, and the Kingdom 
of Mo-la-p'o,' in ZDMG. 58. 787-796), that Yasodharman (on 
whom see also Smith, op. cit. pp. 301-302), whom he identifies 
with the great Vikramaditya, ' founded his Malava empire about 
533 A.D., and reigned up to about 583 A.D.' Hoernle accord- 
ingly dates Subandhu in the second half of the sixth century, 
and holds that the Vdsavadattd was written before 606-612, 
the latter year being that of Harsa's coronation. Attractive as is 
this hypothesis, I am compelled to admit that it can scarcely be 
used to determine the date of Subandhu, the whole evidence of 
Indian history being against it. 

The period following the death of Vikramaditya is described 
in the stanza quoted above as one of degeneration, and there may 
be a covert allusion to the same (or a similar) evil state of affairs 
in the phrase navanrpaticittavrttibhir iva kulydpamdnakdrinibhir ^ 
'as the disposition of new monarchs causes dishonour to the 
honourable' (ed. Hall, p. 220). Hoernle, holding that Vikra- 
maditya's successor was his son Siladitya, who was dethroned 



lo VASAVADATTA 

by his enemies (probably about 593 A.D.), being * replaced in 
the kingdom of his father ' (probably before 604 A. D.) only by 
the aid of the Hun, Pravarasena II of Kashmir {Rdjataranginl 3. 
330)5 has evolved a most ingenious theory which I was long 
inclined to adopt. Siladitya is, on this hypothesis, described as 
not only unfortunate, but cruel, as evidenced by his execution of 
the Maukhari Grahavarman, king of Kanauj, and the brutal 
fettering and imprisonment of the dead monarch's young wife, 
Rajyasri {Harsacarita, tr. Cowell and Thomas, p. 173, London, 
1897); and as unpatriotic, this being shown by his acceptance 
of assistance from non-Aryan Huns. Despite his restoration 
by Pravarasena, the reign of Siladitya, who, Hoernle maintains, 
succeeded his father, Vikramaditya, about 583 A. D., came to 
a disastrous end in 606 (or 605), when he was utterly defeated 
by Rajyavardhana II, the brother of the famous Harsavardhana 
who is the hero of the Harsacarita. Harsavardhana himself 
succeeded to the throne of Thanesar in 6o5, when Rajyavardhana 
was treacherously slain by the Gauda king, Sasanka, and reigned 
until 648 (on Harsavardhana, in general, cf. Ettinghausen, Harsa 
Vardhanay empereur et poHe de VInde septentrionale^ Paris, 
1906). 

While holding this theory, I gave to it the pleasing embellish- 
ment of an hypothesis, without real basis, that the dynasties to 
which Vikramaditya and Harsavardhana belonged were rivals, 
and that Bana was the faithful eulogist of Harsavardhana exactly 
as Subandhu was loyal to Vikramaditya. Since, moreover, 
Bana's monarch had been victorious over the degenerate son of 
Subandhu' s royal patron, I deemed that Bana had deliberately 
set out to surpass Subandhu, so that Harsavardhana's court might 
excel Vikramaditya's in literature as well as in arms. Thus, 
there would have been a deeper motive for Bana to write the 
Harsacarita than the mere incentive of literary emulation which 
is generally ascribed to him. 

History does not sustain this elaborate figment, which I have 
recorded mainly to keep others from possible pursuit of a false 
clue. Not only was Vikramaditya not identical with Yasodharman, 



INTRODUCTION ii 

as already noted, but Siladitya was the very reverse of a cruel 
monarch (Smith, Early History of India from 600 B. c. to the 
Muhammadan Conquest^ 2 ed., p. 306, Oxford, 1908). If one were 
to stress the theory of rivalry both in letters and in war, one 
might suppose that Subandhu was a courtier either of Sasanka 
of Gauda or of Devagupta of Eastern Malava (cf. Ettinghausen, op, 
cit. pp. 36-38, 148), both of whom were ignoble in character. But 
of this there is not the slightest evidence ; and even if the name 
of the father of either of them was Vikramaditya (a most impro- 
bable hypothesis), that would give little point to Subandhu's 
stanza, which plainly alludes to the famous Vikramaditya, and is, 
therefore, only a conventional harking back to happy times long 
past. In determining the date of the Vasavadattd I am forced 
to consider the lines under discussion as utterly valueless. 

While the sole known basis for assigning a terminus a quo to 
the composition of Subandhu's romance is, as we have seen, the 
allusion to Uddyotakara, who probably flourished in the latter 
half of the sixth century, the terminus ad quern is almost cer- 
tainly the date of Bana's Harsacarita. This romance, which was 
left unfinished by its author, ends abruptly with the rescue of 
Rajyasri, the sister of Harsavardhana and widow of Graha- 
varman (i. e. 607, or 606), though Harsa had reigned several 
years when Bana wrote (Harsacarita, tr. Cowell and Thomas, 
PP- 75-76, London, 1897). The precise date of composition of 
Bana's second romance, the Kddambarz, is unknown; but, as 
Bana died before completing it {Kddambarl, tr. Ridding, p. 182, 
London, 1896), it must have been written considerably after the 
Harsacarita, It may also be regarded as certain that Subandhu 
lived later, probably by at least a century (cf. p. 12), than Dandin, 
the author of the picaresque Dasakumdracarita (Weber, Indischc 
Streifen, i. 311-315, ^SS^ 37^5 Berlin, 1868; Dasakumdracarita^ 
tr. Meyer, pp. 120-127, Leipzig, 1902 ; Collins, The Geographical 
Data of the Raghuvamsa and Dasakumdracarita, p. 46, Leipzig, 
1907, places Dandin's literary activity before 585 a. D.). 

The Place of Composition of the Vasavadatta. The question 
next arises as to the place of composition of the Vasavadattd, 



13 VASAVADATTA 

Here the answer must be still more vague.^ It is obviously 
impossible that the romance was written at the court of Bhoja, as 
some manuscripts of the Bhojaprabandha would imply, for that 
ruler did not reign at Dhara until the eleventh century ; nor does 
there seem to have been any Bhoja reigning in the latter part of 
the sixth century at whose court Subandhu might have been, 
thus being confusedly located by Ballala in the train of the 
famous Bhoja of Dhara. One might, indeed, by reckless theorising, 
allege that Subandhu, thus being placed at Dhara in Malava, 
had actually been a courtier either of Devagupta of Eastern 
Malava or of Slladitya of Mo-la-p'o (Western Malava) ; but the 
real reason for this wild statement by the author of the Bhoja- 
prabandha (or, more probably, by one of his interpolators) was 
obviously the identification, occasionally made by Sanskrit 
authors (cf. Weber, Akademische Vorlesungen iiber indische 
Liter aturgeschichte, i ed.,pp. 2i8-:^i9, Berlin, 1876; Rajendralala 
Mitra, 'Bhoja Raja of Dhar and his Homonyms,' in JASBe. 
32. 93), of Bhoja and Vikramaditya, an equation too absurd to 
require refutation. 

To sum up the discussion, we can say with reasonable certainty 
only that the Vdsavadattd was written by Subandhu at a place 
unknown, probably between 550 and somewhat after 606 A. D., 
the terminus a quo being the circumstance that Uddyotakara 
cannot have flourished until at least the middle of the sixth 
century, and the terminus ad que7n by the date of composition 
of the Harsacarita, early in the seventh century.^ 

^ Absolutely no clue is given by the purely conventional geography of the romance, 
on which see Weber, Indische Streifen, i. 385, Berlin, 1868. 

2 Krishnamachariar devotes a long section of his Introduction (pp. 30-48) to a discus- 
sion of Subandhu's date, which he places after Bana and before Vamana, the author of 
the Kdvydlamkdravrtti, whom tradition makes a minister of Jayaplda of Kashmir 
(779-813 ; cf. Duff, Chronology of India, pp. 68, 70-71, "Westminster, 1899). He 
rightly argues that the various references in Sanskrit authors to Subandhu and Bana 
allow of no conclusion as to the priority of the Vdsavadattd ; but some of his hypotheses, 
as that Subandhu's dislike of Buddhism proves him to be later than Bana (p. 45), as 
well as his general implication that the difference between the two writers is due to 
degeneration of style (cf. pp. 14-18), are, in my judgment, certainly untenable; nor 
does he touch with sufficient depth upon what evidence may be drawn from Indian 
history. 



INTRODUCTION 13 

Data Concerning Subandhu's Life. Our knowledge of 
Subandhu is most meagre. In the thirteenth stanza of his intro- 
duction to the Vdsavadattd he terms himself sujajtdikaband/m, 
which Hall (Introd., p. 24), following the commentator, Sivarama, 
renders ' an intimate of none but the virtuous,' although the word 
should rather be translated 'Sujana's only brother.'^ The 
tradition that Subandhu was the nephew of the Prakrit 
grammarian, Vararuci, has already been mentioned (see above, 
p. 6), though with disapproval ; and there seems also to have 
been a legend that he was, by birth, a Kashmirian Brahman 
(Weber, Indische Streifen, i. 371, Berlin, 1868, quoting Cunning- 
ham, in JASBe. 17. 98-99).2 

Subandhu is not known to have written anything besides the 
Vdsavadattd. Citations are made from him in the Sdrnga- 
dharapaddhati, Sitbhdsitdvatl, Padydvalz, and Suktikarndmrta 
(Aufrecht, Catalogtis Catalogorum, i. 726, Leipzig, 1891) ; but 
the quotations in the first two anthologies, which alone are thus 
far edited [by Peterson (Bombay, 1888) and by Peterson and 
Durgaprasada (Bombay, 1886), respectively], are drawn exclu- 
sively from the Vdsavadattd. Hall (Introd., p. 48, note), it is 
true, found in the still unedited Padyavenl of Venidatta, com- 
piled about the reign of Shah Jahan (early 17th century), the fol- 
lowing distich then supposed to have been written by Subandhu : 
aksamdldpavrttijiid kusdsanaparigrahd 
brdhml ''va ddurjanl samsad vandamyd samekhald^ 

' an assembly of scoundrels, knowing <how to live by disparaging 
speeches), accepting «:evil teachings2>, and «<wicked to the just»>, 
should be honoured even as an assembly of Brahmans knowing 

1 Cartellieri, * Das Mahabharata bei Subandhu und Bana/ in WZKM. 13. 72, trans- 
lates the stanza thus : ' Durch eine Gnadengabe, die SarasvatT ihm verliehen, hat 
Subandhu — d.h. der edle Freunde hat — dieses Buch gemacht; obzwar Subandhu — 
d.h. der hundert Freunde hat — hat er doch nur den Edlen zum einzigen Freund ; 
eine wahre Schatzkammer ist er in der Kunst, Silbe fiir Silbe doppelsinnige Dicht- 
ungen zu verfertigen.' On Sujana as a proper name see Aufrecht, op. cit. 3. 149, 
Leipzig, 1903. 

2 It is interesting to note, in this connexion, that Krishnamachariar holds that 
Subandhu was a Vaisnavite and an adherent of the Mimamsa philosophy (Introd., 
pp. 23, 28). 



14 VASAVADATTA 

<the end of their rosaries), accepting «seats of kusa-grass'^i and 
«<girt with their girdles»>.' The distich was not, however, 
written by Subandhu, but by Trivikrama Bhatta, the author of 
the Damayantlkathd^ or Nalacampu (1.7; cf. Bohtlingk, Indische 
Sprikhe, a ed., No. 52, St. Petersburg, 1 870-1 873), who flourished 
about 915 A.D. (Duff, Chronology of India^ p. 85, Westminster, 

1899).! 

The Vasavadatta a Katha. The Vdsavadattd is expressly 
stated by many manuscripts (cf. Hall's ed., p. 300, note 7, and 
Sivarama ad loc.) to be an dkhydyikd, or ' tale,' this being very 
possibly influenced by the reference to some work entitled, from 
the name of its heroine, vdsavadattdkhydyikd in the Vdrttika 
on Panini 4. 3. 87 (cf. also the Vdrttika on 4. i^. 60, and see 
Krishnamachariar, Introd., pp. 36-37). The dkhydyikd, according 
to Sanskrit rhetoricians (cf. Regnaud, Rhetor ique sanskrite, pp. 76- 
77, Paris, 1884), is a division oigadya, or poetical prose ; and the 
classical example is the Harsacarita of Bana, who himself seems 
to intimate that the Vdsavadattd likewise belongs to this cate- 
gory by using the term dkhydyikdkdrd, * authors of dkhydyikds^ 
immediately before his allusion to Subandhu's romance, in the 
tenth stanza of his introduction to the Harsacarita, The classic 
description of the dkhydyikd is given in the following passage of 
the Sdhityadarpana (ed. Roer, No. 568, Calcutta, 1851) : 

dkhydyikd kathdvat sydt kaver vamsddikirtanam 
asydm anyakavlndm ca vrttam gadyam kvacit kvacit 
kathdmsdndm vyavaccheda dsvdsa iti hadhyate 
drydvaktrdpavaktrdndm chandasd yena kenacit 
anydpadesend "svdsamtckhe bhdvyarthasucanam, 

' the dkhydyikd should be as the kathd. (There should be) in it 
an account of the lineage of the poet and of other poets ; poetry 

^ Krishnamachariar (Introd., pp. 39-40) calls attention to a number of passages in 
the Nalacampu (ed. Bombay, 1885; new ed., 1903) in which he holds that Trivikrama 
Bhatta imitated Subandhu. He likewise notes parallels between the Vdsavadattd and 
the Jivandharacampii of Haricandra (p. 52), who wrote after 897 A.D. (p. 44), 
Si'supdlavadha (p. 53), Rdmdyana (p. 6^,Meghaduta (p. 54), VikramorvaH (pp. 62, 
64), and Mdlatimadhava (pp. 61-62), as well as the Harsacarita (pp. 53-57), and 
KddambarT (pp. 52, 53, 55, 57, 63). 



INTRODUCTION 15 

in some places (and) prose in others (should be employed) ; 
divisions, called '* sighs," are used for the divisions of the story ; 
at the beginning of the " sighs " (there should be) an intimation 
of the theme, under the guise of something else, by any metre 
whatsoever of the dryd^ vaktra^ or apavaktra (classes).' 

The kathd^ or * story/ best represented by Bana's Kddamhan^ 
is described by the Sdhityadarpana (No. 567) as follows : 

kathdydni sarasam vastu padydir eva vinirmitam 
kvacid atra bhaved dryd kvacid vaktrdpavaktrake 
dddu padydir namaskdrah khaldder vrttaklrtaiiam^ 

*in the kathd a theme with poetic sentiments is represented even 
with poetry ; in it there should be the dryd metre in some places, 
(and) the vaktra and apavaktra metres in other places ; at the 
beginning (there should be) homage in verse (to a divinity, also) 
a description of the character of knaves and the like.' The older, 
and in my judgment the better, definition of this type of Sanskrit 
literature, however, is given by Dandin, the author of the pica- 
resque Dasakttmdracarita^ who says {Kdvyddarsa i. '^Z~'^S) ^^) • 

apddah padasantdno gadyam dkhydyikd kathd 
iti tasya prabheddu dvdu tayor dkhydyikd kila 
ndyakendi "va vdcyd "ityd ndyakene 'tarena vd 
svagundviskriyd doso nd 'tra bhutdrthasamsinah 
api tv aniyamo drstas tatrd 'py anydir udirandt 
anyd vaktra svayam ve ''ti kidrg vd bhedalaksanam 

tat kathdkhydyike **ty ekd jdtih sanjnddvaydnkitd 
atrdi 'V^ ' ntarbhavisyanti sesds cd ^' khydnajdiayah, 

* prose is a series of words without strophes ; its two classes are 
the dkhydyikd (and) the kathd. Now, the dkhydyikd should be 
spoken by the hero, the other (the katha) by the hero or another. 
A revelation of one's own personality, if he narrates facts, is no 
fault here. Nevertheless, the lack of fixed distinction is seen 
from the story being told by others even there (in the dkhydyikd). 
Whether another (is) the speaker, or one's self, is a sorry standard 



1 6 VASAVADATTA 

of discrimination Therefore the kathd (and) akh^dyikd are 

one category marked with a double name ; and here, too, will be 
comprised the other categories of stories.' ^ 

In support of this statement of Dandin, it may be noted that 
the Vdsavadattd^ though termed, as we have seen, an dkhydyikd 
lacks the necessary divisions into ' sighs ' ; in its opening stanzas 
it (like a kathd) describes ' the character of knaves and the like ' 
(introductory stanzas 6-9) ; and it contains a long episode spoken 
by another than the hero — the conversation of the maina with his 
mate concerning the heroine of the story. The manifest resem- 
blance of the Vdsavadattd to the Kddambart, which is considered 
to be a kathd, together with its unlikeness to the Harsacarita, 
whose technique it should share, were it really an dkhydyikd, also 
serves to confirm the views of Dandin rather than those of the 
Sdhityadarpana. One need have little hesitation, therefore, in 
regarding the Vdsavadattd as technically a kathd. ^ 

The ' Style ' and Rhetorical Embellishments of the Vasava- 
datta. The riti, or 'style,' of the Vdsavadattd is the Gdudi, 
which the Sdhityadarpana (No. 627) defines as follows (cf., in 
general, Regnaud, RhetoiHqtce sanskrite, pp. '^^S^r'^^^-) Paris, 1884): 

djahprakdsakdir varndir bandha ddamharah pimah 
samdsabahuld gdudi, 

* the Gdudl, moreover, is a resonant arrangement (of words) with 
sounds expressing strength, (and) abounds in compounds.' Va- 
mana, in his Kdvydlamkdravrtti (i. %, 1%), describes this * style' 
as ' consisting of strength (ojas) and grace {kdnti)' while avoiding 

* sweetness ' {mddhurya) and * softness ' {sdukumdryd). Accord- 
ing to the Kdvyddarsa (i. 44a, 46a, 54a, 9:2a), moreover, the 
Gdudl especially affects alliteration, etymologising, and hyper- 
bole.^ When it is added that, as the Kdvyddarsa (i. 14-29) also 

^ It may be mentioned in passing that Anandavardhana's Dhvanyaloka, 3. 8 
(tr. Jacobi, in ZDMG. 56. 789), states that compound words are longer in the 
dkhydyikd than in the kathd, 

2 I am glad to note that my conclusion in this respect is confirmed by Krishna- 
machariar (Introd., pp. 8-9). 

3 Krishnamachariar (Introd., pp. 28-29) notes the prevalence in the Vdsavadattd 



INTRODUCTION 17 

states, an dkhydyikd^ kathd^ or other form of narrative should, 
like poetry in general, include descriptions of battles, cities, 
oceans, mountains, seasons, sunrise, moonrise, and the like (each 
and all of which may be exemplified from the Vdsavadattd\ we 
see at once how closely Subandhu was restricted in the composi- 
tion of his romance, and how faithfully and minutely he discharged 
his self-imposed task. 

The slender thread of narrative in the Vdsavadattd is em- 
bellished with many forms of literary adornment, which, indeed, 
constitute by far the major portion of the work. First and fore- 
most among these embellishments stands the slesa^ or ' parono- 
masia,' and with good reason Subandhu declares himself to be 

* a repository of cunning skill in arranging a series of parono- 
masias in every syllable ' {pratyaksaraslesamayaprabandhavinyd- 
savdidagdkyanidhir , introductory stanza 13). The slesa is well 
defined by Dandin, in his Kdvyddarsa {%, ^6^ ; cf. Regnaud, 
Rhetorique sanskrite, pp. 227-2^x9, Paris, 1884; Sdhityadarpana^ 
No. 705 ; Kdvyaprakdsa^ tr. Jha, pp. 188-197, 217-218, Benares, 
1898 ; Kuvalaydiiandakdrikd^ i. 62), as follows : 

slesah sarvdsu pumdti prdyd vakroktisti sriyam 
bhinnam dvidhd svabhdvoktir vakroktU ce 'ti vdmnayam 

* the paronomasia generally enhances the beauty in all equivoca- 
tions ; the phraseology (is) divided in two parts : the natural 
meaning and the equivocal meaning.' Examples of the slesa^ 
usually intimated in the Vdsavadattd by iva^ * as ' (and indicated 
in this translation by <> or, when double and triple, by « », <« >»), 
abound in Subandhu's romance. As a single specimen may be 
cited vdnarasendm iva stigrivdngaddpasobhitdm^ ' adorned with a 

of zitkalikdprdya, or style of long compounds and words containing alliteration 
(Regnaud, Rhetorique sanskrite, p. 75, Paris, 1884), and of the vriti drabhatt, or 
'violent manner' of scenes of awe and conflict (L6vi, Theatre indien, i. 92-93, Paris, 
1890). The * manner' is also sometimes madhyamakdisiki (according to Vidyanatha, 
the author of the Pratdparudraya'sdbhiisana [cf. Regnaud, op. cit., pp. 377-378], 
quoted by Krishnamachariar, mrdvarthe 'py anatiprdudhabandhd madhyamakdiHkt, 
'not conjoined with excessive dignity in a gentle theme'), and the style is mostly 
ndrikelapdka (according to Vidyanatha, sa ndrikerapdkah sydd antargudharasodayak, 

* the rising of hidden flavour ') , although sometimes dmrapdka (for which no definition 
is given). 



J 8 VASAVADATTA 

<beautiful throat {sugriva) and with armlets {angaddp as the 
army of monkeys was adorned by <SugrIva and Angada>' (ed. 
Hall, pp. 63-64).! 

The figure next in frequence to the slesa in the Vdsavadattd is 
the virddha^ or * antithesis/ where the superficial meaning is self- 
contradictory, while the paronomasiac reading renders the phrase 
consistent, and even intensifies it. This rhetorical embellishment 
is defined as follows in the Kdvyddarsa (2. 333 ; cf. Sdhityadar- 
pana^ No. 718; Kdvyaprakdsa, tr. Jha, pp. 'Z^^-'Z^^, Benares, 
1898 ; Kuvalaydnmtdakdrikd^ I. 74) : 

viruddhdndm paddvthdndm yatra samsargadarsanam 
visesadarsandydi ^'va sa virodhah smrto yathd, 

' when there is an apparent union of antithetical objects simply 
to show the distinction (between them), it is called virodha' The 
conventional sign of the virddha in the Vdsavadattd is api^ as iva 
is indicative of the slesa. As an example of the countless in- 
stances of the virddha in Subandhu's romance, mention may be 
made of agrahend 'pi kdvyajwajnena, ' which <has no planets 
{a'graha)> yet knows «Venus (/^«e{>'^=Sukra=the planet Venus) 
and Jupiter (yjz/^=Brhaspati=the planet Jupiter)», for it is <free 
from theft {a'graka)^ and knows <Kthe essence (jtva) of poetry 
{kdvyd)^' (ed. Hall, pp. 11 3-1 14). 

Besides these two rhetorical devices, Sivarama, in his com- 
mentary on the Vdsavadattd^ enumerates a long series of alam- 
kdras, or ' adornments,' which will now briefly be considered. 

The parisankhyd^ or ' special mention,' usually combined with 
the slesa in the Vdsavadattd^ is an affirmative statement with the 
implied negation of the paronomasiac meaning of the phrase, and 
- is thus defined by the Sdhityadarpana (No. 735 ; cf. Kdvyapra- 
kdsa^ tr. Jha, pp. 245-246, Benares, 1898 ; Ktivalaydnandakdrikd, 
I. 112) : 

* On Subandhu's fondness for paronomasia see, further, Krishnamachariar, Introd., 
pp. 18-20, who also calls attention to repetitions of paronomasia on the same word 
(p. 27) as well as to the frequent repetition of the same phrase in the romance 
(pp. 25-26). 



INTRODUCTION 19 

prasndd aprasnatd vd '^pi kathitdd vastuno bhavet 
tddrganyavyapdhas cec chdbda drtho 'thavd tadd 
parisankhyd^ 
' if there is either an expressed or implied exclusion, whether with 
or without an interrogation, of a thing similar to (but) other than 
the object mentioned, then it is a parisankhyd' An example 
from the Vdsavadattd is netrdtpdtanain mimindm, * <roots {netrdp 
were plucked out only in the case of «worm wood-trees (;;22^;2f;2^^)» 
(for ^ascetics {munlndin)^ did not pluck out their <eyes {netrap) ' 
(ed. Hall, p. 19). 

The mdlddtpaka, or * garland elucidator ' (* verkettete Klimax/ 
according to Bohtlingk, Sanskrit- Worterbuch in kiirzerer Fas- 
sung, s. v., St. Petersburg, 1879-1889), is a rhetorical repetition 
of words in a sequence so as to heighten the effect, and is thus 
defined by the Kdvyddarsa (3. 108 ; cf. Kdvyaprakdsa^ tr. Jha, 
p. 326, Benares, 1898 ; Kttvalaydnandakdrikd, i. 105) : 

purvapurvavyapeksinl 
vdkyamdld prayiikte "ti tan mdlddipakam matam, 

* a conjoined series of words, each of which refers to the one pre- 
ceding, is considered a mdlddipaka' As an example may be 
cited bhujadandena kddandam kddandena sardh sardir arisiras, 'by 
his staff-like arm the bow, by the bow the arrows, by the arrows 
his foeman's head' (ed. Hall, p. 41). 

The uipreksd, or * poetic fancy,' usually indicated, like the slesa^ 
by iva, ' as,' in the Vdsavadattd, and one of Subandhu's favourite 
rhetorical devices, is thus concisely defined by the Sdhityadar- 
pana (No. 686; cf. Kdvyddarsa, 3. 33 1 ; Kdvyaprakdsa, tr. Jha, 
p. 311, Benares, 1898 ; Ktivalaydnandakdrikd, i. 30) : 

bhavet sambhdvano ''tpreksd prakrtasya pardtmand, 

* poetic fancy would be the imagining of an object under the 
character of something else.' Examples of this figure abound in 
the Vdsavadattd, as in the following description of the moon : 
dadhidhavale kdlaksapanakagrdsapinda iva nisdyamundphena- 
puhja iva menakdnakhamdrjanasildsakala iva, * while he was 
white, as it were, with the curds which constitute a morsel of food 

C 3 



%o VASAVADATTA 

for (Buddhist) ascetics at their mealtime, and was hke a mass of 
Yamuna's foam by night, and resembled a fragment of stone for 
the polishing of Menaka's nails ' (ed. Hall, p. 44).^ 

The yamaka, ' repetition ' or ' chiming,' is the repeating of 
words or parts of words of similar sound but divergent meaning, 
which the Kdvyddarsa (i. 61 ; cf. 3. 1-37 ; Sdhityadarpana^ 
No. 640; Kdvyaprakdsa^ tr. Jha, pp. 185-188, Benares, 1898 ; 
Kuvalaydnandakdrikd, 4. 6) describes as 

dvrttim varnasanghdtagocardm yamakam viduk^ 

* a repetition consisting of a combination of sounds they know as 
yamaka^ This is illustrated by the following passage from the 
Vdsavadattd : dndolitakusumakesare kesarenumusi ranitamadhu- 
ramanlndm ramanlndm vikacakumuddkare muddkare^ * (when 
there blew a wind that) rocked the filaments of the flowers and 
removed their pollen from the hair of damsels wearing delight- 
somely tinkling jewels, whilst it had an abundance of expanded 
white lotuses, and caused pleasure ' (ed. Hall, pp. ^'X-^'^, 

ThQ prdudhdkti, or ' pomposity,' is thus defined by the Kuva- 
laydnandakdrikd {1 . iQ,^) '. 

prdudhoktir uktd Wthdhetds taddhetutvaprakalpanam^ 

* in the absence of a cause for a thing, the invention of a cause 
for it is cdiWed prdudhdkti! It is exemplified in the Vdsavadattd 
by the passage describing the heroine's lip as mukhacandra- 
sannihitasandhydrdgena dantamaniraksdsinduramudrdnukdrind^ 

* which had the glow of eventide in close proximity to her moon- 
like face ; which had what seemed to be a minium seal as a guard 
for the jewels of her teeth ' (ed. Hall, p. 58). 

The rupakdtisaydktij or ' hyperbolical metaphor,' is merely an 
. exaggerated form of the preceding alamkdra. It is thus defined 
in the Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (i. 34) : 

rupakdtisaydktih sydn nigiryddhyavasdnatak^ 

* identification so that (the object identified) should be swallowed 

* On the similes in the Vdsavadattd see also the examples collected by Krishna- 
machariar, Introd., pp. 20-22. 



INTRODUCTION 21 

up (and thus completely disappear) would be rupakdtisayokti ' ; 
and as an example may be cited, from the description of Vasa- 
vadatta just quoted, the passage vilocanendlvarabhramarapahk- 
tibhydm mukhamadanamandiratdrandbhydm rdgasdgaraveldbh- 
ydm yduvananartakaldsikdbhydm bhrulatdbhydm virdiamdndm, 

* adorned with delicate brows which were clusters of bees about 
her blue-lotus eyes ; portals of her face that formed the abode of 
Love ; the shores of Passion's sea ; wantoning in youthful dancing' 
(ed. Hall, p, 61). 

The akramdtisaydkti^ or 'fused hyperbole,' is closely akin to 
the preceding rhetorical figure, of which it is merely an intensi- 
fication. It receives the following definition in the Kuvalayd- 
nandakdrikd (i. 39) : 

akramdtisaydktih sydt sahatve hetukdryayok^ 

^ akramdtisaydkti would be in the unity of cause and effect.' 
Sivarama cites but one instance of the figure in the Vdsavadattd^ 
this being samam dvisdm dhanusdm ca jlvdkrstim yddhds cakruh^ 
' the warriors drew at once the <lives {jtvdp of their foes and the 
<strings {jzvd)y of their bows' (ed. Hall, p. 395). 

Two other forms of hyperbole are mentioned by Sivarama as 
occurring in Subandhu's romance. The first of these is bhedakd- 
tisaydkti, or ' hyperbole of differentiation.' It is defined as follows 
in the Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (i. 36) : 

bhedakdtisayoktis tu tasydi ''vd ' nyatvavarnanam^ 

* hhedakdtisaydkti is the description of that (which is the subject 
under discussion) by means of differentiation,' and it is exemplified 
in the Vdsavadattd by prthur api gotrasamutsdranavistdri- 
tabhmnandalah, * Prthu <levelled the earth by banishing the 
mountains) (but Cintamani <covered the earth by sending forth 
his offspring)) ' (ed. Hall, p. 23). 

The remaining form of hyperbole in the Vdsavadattd is sam- 
bandhdtisayokti^ or 'hyperbole of connexion,' which is thus 
defined in the Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (i. 37) : 

sambandkdtisaydktik sydd ayoge yogakalpanam, 
' sambandhdtisaydkti would be the invention of connexion when 



%% VASAVADATTA 

connexion is absent,' as when Subandhu describes trees as being 
anurukarakasdbhighdtaparavasaravirathaturagagrdsavisamitapa- 
llavdis^ * with shoots made uneven by the feeding of the horses 
of the chariot of the sun which are obedient when lashed by the 
whip in the hands of Anuru ' (ed. Hall, p. 120). 

The ratndvall^ or ' jewel necklace,' is defined as follows in the 
Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (i. 139) : 

kramikdprakrtdrthdndm itydsam ratndvalim viduh^ 

* an arrangement of objects serially irrelevant they know as ratnd- 
valty and is exemplified in the Vdsavadattd where the heroine is 
described as vikacma netrakamalena sandiscarena pddena tamasd 
kesapdsena grahamayim iva^ * she seemed to be made of planets : 
of <Venus>, for she had <wide-open> lotus ^y^s, ; of <Saturn>, for 
she had <slow-moving> steps ; of <Rahu>, for she had <dark> heavy 
hair * (ed. Hall, p. 64). 

The kdvyalinga, or ' poetic reason,' is thus defined by the 
Sdhityadarpana (No. 710; cf. Kdvyaprakdsa^ tr. Jha, pp. 238- 
339, Benares, 1898 ; Kuvalaydnandakdrikd^ i. 120) : 

hetor vdkyapaddrthatve kdvyalingam nigadyate, 

' kdvyalinga is applied to the implication of a cause in a sentence or 
word,' and finds exemplification in the Vdsavadattd in the passage 
khaldh punas tad anistam anucitam evd 'vadhdrayanty anistod- 
bhdvanarasottaram hi khalahrdayam^ ' the wicked, on the other 
hand, make it (thy conduct) out to be undesirable and indecorous ; 
for the heart of the wicked man finds its highest delight centred 
in bringing to light what is undesirable ' (ed. Hall, p. 70). 

The milita^ or * vanished,' denotes a complete loss of distinction 
between two objects because of their superficial resemblance, as 
is expressed by the definition of the Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (t. 145 ; 
cf. Kdvyaprakdsa^ tr. Jha, pp. 253-254, Benares, 1898 ; Ruyyaka's 
Alamkdrasarvasvay ed. Durgaprasada and Parab, p. 167, Bombay, 

1893): 

mllitam yadi sddrsydd bheda eva na laksyate^ 

* if, because of similarity, a distinction is not observed, it is 
militaJ As an example from Subandhu I may cite mddhurya- 



INTRODUCTION 23 

sdityasucitvasantdpasdntihhih pay ah pay a ive V?, ' fancying that 
" water is as milk because of its sweetness, coolness, purity, and 
healing of distress " ' (ed. Hall, p. 80). 

The anuprdsaj or ' alliteration/ a rhetorical figure found with 
considerable frequency in Subandhu's romance, is thus defined 
by the Sdhityadarpana (No. 6'^q, ; cf. Kdvyddarsa^ i. 55 ; Kdvya- 
prakdsa, tr. Jha, pp. 182-184, Benares, 1898 ; Ktrvalaydnandakd- 
rikd, 4. 2-5) : 

anuprdsah sabdasdmyam vdisamye 'pi svarasya yaty 

' anuprdsa (is) a similarity of sound, despite a dissimilarity of the 
vowel.' As an example from the Vdsavadattd may be cited these 
two adjectives descriptive of the River Reva : madakalakalakam- 
sasdrasarasitddbhrdn tabhdhkuta vikatapticckacckatdvyddkutavikaca - 
kamalakhandavigalitamakarandabindtisanddkasurabhitasalilayd.. 
. . . upakulasanjdtanalanikuhjaptmjitakuldyakukkiitaghatdghutkd- 
rabhdiravatlrayd^ ' whose waters were perfumed by the abundance 
of the drops of liquid which had fallen from the fragments of full- 
blown lotuses shaken by many monstrous tails of b/idhkufa-fish 
that had been terrified by the notes, indistinct for passion, of geese 

and herons ; whose banks were strident with the screams 

of multitudes of wild cocks whose nests thronged the bowers of 
reeds that had sprung up near its shores ' (ed. Hall, pp. 95, 98). 

The sama, or ' equal,' is thus defined in the Kdvyddarsa (i. 47 ; 
cf. Sdhityadarpana y No. 618 ; Kdvyaprakdsa^ tr. Jha, pp. 175- 
176^ Benares, 1898): 

samam bandhesv avisamam te mrdusphutamadhyamdh 
bandhd mrdusphutonmisravarnaviriydsaydnayah^ 

' sama is not uneven in collocations (of words) ; these collocations, 
smooth, rough, (and) middling, depend on the arrangement of 
smooth, rough, and mixed (sounds).' It is illustrated by the 
passage kdmaddruna maddrunanetrdsmaramayam ramayantam 
tvdm adayam madayantl param akam itdraniparam akamitdrain 
vdnchatiy 'what gentle-eyed woman who fervently delighteth 
thee, that art not inflamed with passion, (but art) the essence of 
love, delightsome, (and) a most excellent lover, desireth another 



24 VASAVADATTA 

that is no lover [cruel with passion ! red-eyed with lust ! alas, an 
unlovely dame desireth thee, the essence of lovelessness, hot, 
pitiless, absolutely no lover, (and) bound for utmost woe !] ' (ed. 
Hall, pp. 2>i^-2i4). 

The vzdki, or ' rule/ is defined as follows by the Kuvalaydnan- 
dakdrikd (i. 167): 

siddhasydi ^'va vidhdnam yat tad dhur vidhyalamkrtim^ 

' what (is) a precept of a thing well established, that they call the 
vidhi adornment,' and is exemplified by kurangike kalpaya 
kurangasdvakebhyah saspdnkuram kisorike kdraya kisorakebhyah 
pratyaveksdm, * Kurangika, prepare a blade of young grass for 
the antelope fauns ! Kisorika, have the young colts looked after ' ! 
(ed. Hall, pp. 230-231). 

The sambhdvana^ or * supposition,' is thus defined by the 
Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (i. 125) : 

sambhdvanam yadl ^ttham sydd ity uho 'nyasya siddhaye^ 

' sambhdvana is a conjecture for the attainment of something 
else with the thought, " if it were so." ' It is illustrated in the 
Vdsavadaitd by the passage tvatkrte yd ''nayd vedand ''nubhutd 
sd yadi nabhah patrdyate sdgaro meldnanddyate brahmdyate 
lipikaro bhujagardjdyate kathakas tadd kim api katham apy 
anekdir yugasahasrdir abhilikhyate kathyate vd, 'the pain that 
hath been felt by this maiden for thy sake might be written or 
told in some wise or in some way in many thousands of ages 
if the sky became paper, the sea an ink-well, the scribe Brahma, 
(and) the narrator the Lord of Serpents ' (ed. Hall, pp. 238-239). 
The kdranamdld, or ' chain of causes,' is given the following 
definition in the Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (i. 103 ; cf. Kdvyaprakdsa, 
tr. Jha, p. 246, Benares, 1898) : 

gumphak kdranamdld sydd yathdprakrdntakdrandik, 

'a series (made) by causes proceeding one after the other is 
a kdranamdldl and an example is seen by Sivarama in the 
description of Vasavadatta's palace as ajndiatatasphdtikapat- 
tasukkanisannamdrdyamdnaprdsddapdrdvatdbkik, ' with palace 



INTRODUCTION 25 

doves sleeping comfortably (because) perched on slabs of crystal 
from shores unknown' (ed. Hall, pp. 217-218). 

The uddtta^ or ' exalted/ is thus defined in the Sdhityadarpana 
(No. 752; cf. Kdvyaprakdsa, tr. Jha, p. 240, Benares, 1898; 
Kuvalaydnandakdrikdy i. 162-163) : 

Idkdtisayasampattivarnano ^'ddttam ticyatc 

yad vd '^pi prastutasyd 'ngam mahatdm caritam bkavet, 

*the portrayal of extraordinary prosperity is called uddtta, or 
it would even be the deeds of the great, (if they form) part of 
the subject in hand.' An illustration of this figure is found in 
another portion of the description just quoted : karpurapura- 
viracitapiilinatata7iivistaninaddmimiyamdnardjahamslbhir, ' with 
flamingoes whose noise would imply that they had settled near 
the sand bank formed by the stream of camphor ' (ed. Hall, 
p. 218), only one of extreme wealth being able to possess such 
a river. ^ 

The kditavdpahnuti, or ' false concealment,' is defined by the 
Kuvalaydnmtdakdrikd (i. 28) as follows : 

kditavdpahnutir vyaktdii vydjddydir niknutek paddih, 

* kditavdpahnuti (consists) in the manifestation of concealment by 
words of pretext and the like,' and finds exemplification in the 
Vdsavadattd in the passage ativeganipitajaladhijalasankhamdldm 
iva baldkdcchaldd tidvamann adrsyata jaladah^ ' the cloud seemed 
to vomit forth, like a crane, what appeared to be a series of 
ocean shells that had been drunk down too hastily ' (ed. Hall, 
pp. 283-284). 

The lokdkii, 'popular expression,' is thus defined by the 
Kiivalaydnandakdrikd (i. 156) : 

lokapravdddnukrtir lokdktir iti katkyate, 

' the imitation of a popular colloquialism is called lokoktil and 
finds an illustration in Subandhu's romance in the exhortation 
tad adhund yadi tvam sahapdmbikrtdanasamadtihkhasnkho 'si 

^ Sivarama rightly notes that this passage also contains the rhetorical figure anumdna, 
or 'inference' (cf. Kdvyaprakdsay tr. Jha, pp. 243-244, Benares, 1898; Kuvalaydnan- 
dakdrikd, 2. 10). 



^6 VASAVADATTA 

tadd mam amcgaccka, * now, therefore, if thou didst share the 
sorrows and joys of our playing together in the dust, then follow 
me ' (ed. Hall, p. 8^). 

The svabhdvdkti, or ' natural description,' receives the following 
definition in the Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (i. i6o ; cf. Kdvyapra- 
kdsa, tr. Jha, p. %^^, Benares, 1898) : 

svabhdvoktih svahhdvasya jdtyddisthasya varnanam^ 

^ svabhdvdkti is the description of inherent nature consisting of 
characteristics and the like/ As an example from the Vdsava- 
dattd may be cited ; 

pasyo ^ dahcadavdncadancitavapuh pascdrddhapurvdrddhabhak 
stabdhdttdnitaprsthanisthitamandgbhtig7idgraldngulabhrt 
damstrdkotivisankatdsyakuharah kurvan satdm utkatdm 
utkarnah. kurute kramam karipatdu krurdkrtih kesarZy 

' lo, with his bending body bending up and bending down, now 
with his hind quarters and now with his fore quarters, with the 
tip of his tail slightly bent along his hard, arched back, with his 
cavernous mouth monstrous with the tips of his fangs, making 
his mane huge, (and) with his ears erect, the horrible lion doth 
make attack upon the lord of elephants ' (ed. Hall, p. 103). 

The kdvydrthdpatti^ or ' poetic inference,' is defined as follows 
in the Kuvalaydnandakdrikd (i. 119) : 

kdimtityend Wthasamsiddhih kdvydrthdpattir isyate, 

' an a fortiori Sittamment of a matter is regarded as kdvydrthd- 
patti' It is exemplified by Subandhu in his heroine's letter to 
Kandarpaketu : 

pratyaksadrstabhdvd 'py asthirahrdayd hi kdminl bhavati 
svapndnubhutabhdvd dradhayati na pratyayam yuvatih, 

*"a loving maid is of unsteady heart even when she hath seen the 
feelings (of her lover) with her eyes ; a girl who hath learned his 
feelings only from a dream hath no assurance ' (ed. Hall, p. 164). 
Literary and Ethical Merit of the Vasavadatta. The Vdsa- 
vadattd apparently being written to display its author's skill in 
rhetoric, rather than his inventive powers in fiction, we are 



INTRODUCTION 27 

naturally led to consider what literary value we may assign to it. 
Here the ' personal equation ' must inevitably play a part, and 
here the fundamental difference between Oriental and Occidental 
concepts must be duly recognised. In the West the subject- 
matter comes first in nearly every form of literary composition ; 
and the more tense and nervous the people, the more simple and 
direct is the style. In the East, on the contrary, the form is 
often more important than the matter, especially in periods of 
hyper-civilisation, such as was that during which Subandhu 
wrote. We must, therefore, consider the Vdsavadattd from the 
luxuriant atmosphere of the land of its author, not from the 
* practical ' point of view of the West. To me, at least, there is 
true melody in the long, rolling compounds, a sesquipedalian 
majesty which can never be equalled save in Sanskrit ; and the 
alliterations have a lulling music all their own to ears weary of 
the blatant discords of vaunted modem ' progress.' There is, on 
the other hand, a compact brevity in the paronomasias, which 
are, in most cases, veritable gems of terseness and twofold 
appropriateness, even though some are manifestly forced and are 
actually detrimental to the sense of the passages in which they 
occur. Yet in judging Subandhu for his faults, it must be re- 
membered that he created, at least so far as we now know, a new 
literary genre in India ; and if this fact be borne in mind, his 
blemishes appear to be marvellously few. In estimating his 
literary merits special stress should be laid on his descriptions. 
These are, it must be confessed, cloying from their abundance. 
They form the preponderating part of the entire romance, and 
the slender framework of the story is wellnigh lost beneath 
them. Yet despite this tropical luxuriance, the descriptions are 
not without beauty and appropriateness, whether they set forth 
the charms of mountain, forest, and stream, or portray the 
raja's valour and the loveliness of the heroine herself. The 
entire romance may, in a sense, be likened to India's own 
architecture, where the whole structure is so overlaid with minute 
detail that the eye forgets the outlines of the building in amaze- 
ment at the delicate traceries which cover it. 



28 VASAVADATTA 

Nor does it seem to me that the ethical standard of the 
Vdsavadattd can be objectionable to one of healthy mind. 
True, the East is not as the West ; and there are personal 
descriptions more detailed than would be desirable in Occidental 
literature, together with evident approval of relations and ideals 
which the less sensual Western mind rightly condemns. There 
are passages, too, which I would gladly have omitted, had I felt 
that a faithful translator could do so. And yet, despite all this, 
I find in the romance no evidence of delight in uncleanness, such 
as nauseates, for example, in Petronius or in Martial. It is not 
pornographic ; it is, at worst, unmoral, though its rigid adherence 
to all conventions, both in letter and, I think, in spirit, renders 
even unmorality almost too harsh an accusation. From an 
Indian point of view, unlightened by the radiance of Christianity 
and the morality which it inculcates, I should not hesitate to 
term the Vdsavadattd a moral work, especially in view of the 
conditions of life in mediaeval India. Its atmosphere, luxuriant 
though it be, has never seemed to me to be debasing. 

It is by no means impossible that some will dissent from the 
views here expressed regarding the literary and moral quality of 
Subandhu's romance. If so, they may turn from the first 
Western translator of the Vdsavadattd to the first Western 
editor of the romance, Fitzedward Hall, who, in his Introduction, 
has unsparingly condemned the entire production both in its 
literary and in its ethical aspects — a precedent followed by 
Krishnamachariar in his sarcastic critique of the whole plot of 
Subandhu's work (Introd., pp. 50-66). 

Outline of the Plot of the Romance. The outline of the story 
of the Vdsavadattd is as follows : A king named Cintamani had 
a son Kandarpaketu, who was, like his father, the embodiment 
of all virtues. Once upon a time toward dawn, when true 
dreams come, the young prince saw in his sleep a vision of 
a maiden of some eighteen years, whose loveliness could not be 
surpassed. Jealous sleep forsook Kandarpaketu, who, with his 
friend Makaranda, left the city in his love-longing for the 
unknown princess. In their wanderings the pair came to the 



INTRODUCTION %() 

Vindhya mountains, and there, in the watches of the night, 
the sleepless prince overheard the conversation of two birds 
perched on a branch of the tree beneath which he lay. To the 
story of the husband-bird, trying to explain his late hours to his 
suspicious wife, Kandarpaketu listened, and was richly rewarded 
by what he heard. In the city of Pataliputra on the Ganges, so 
the maina recounted, reigned the mighty monarch Srngarase- 
khara, who had an only daughter named Vasavadatta. In the 
spring she, too, had met her fate in a dream — a youth of 
matchless beauty, whose name was Kandarpaketu. The con- 
fidante of the princess at this juncture was her maid, Tamalika, 
who had volunteered to seek Kandarpaketu and bear to him 
a missive from the princess telling of her love. The lovers were 
now soon united at Pataliputra, where Kandarpaketu was informed 
that Srhgarasekhara, dismayed at his daughter's unwedded state, 
had determined to marry her the very next day to the Vidyadhara 
prince Puspaketu. Kandarpaketu and Vasavadatta accordingly 
returned almost immediately, by means of a magic steed, to the 
Vindhyas; but when the prince awoke in the morning, his 
beloved was no longer in the bower. Mad with sorrow, he was 
restrained from suicide only by a voice from heaven which 
promised him reunion with the princess. After many months of 
weary searching and waiting, he found Vasavadatta turned to 
stone. His touch gave the statue life again, and she told him 
how, while two armies destroyed each other to gain her for their 
leaders, she had unwittingly intruded in the garden of a hermit, 
who laid upon her the curse of petrification until her lover should 
come. Thus, at last, the woes of the lovers were over, and 
returning to Kandarpaketu's capital, delight was theirs ever 
afterward (for other summaries see Hall, Introd., pp. 39-43 ; 
Strehly, Revue politique et litteraire^ 44. 305-308 ; Krishnama- 
chariar, Introd., pp. 9-14 ; and the references given in the 
bibliography, below, pp. 197-199). 

From this brief outline of the plot of the Vasavadatta it will 
be seen that Subandhu alludes to several incidents widely found 
in literature and folk-tales, such as talking birds, magic steeds, 



30 VASAVADATTA 

and transformation. To all these I have sought to give parallels, 
especially from modern Indian folk-tales, in footnotes to the 
passages in which they occur. There seems to be no parallel, 
however, to the story of the Vdsavadatta as a whole, and, as 
already stated (p. 2), Subandhu evidently invented the slender 
plot of his own romance (cf. also Hall, Introd., pp. 1-6). 

Sanskrit * Estilo Culto ' Previous to Subandhu, and in Later 
Epigraphy. This allusion to comparative literature brings us to 
possible quasi-parallels to the style of the Vdsavadatta. The 
commingling of prose and verse which is characteristic of the 
akhydyikd^ kathd, and other forms oi gadya, or poetical prose (cf. 
Regnaud, Rhetorique sanskrite, pp. 74-77, Paris, 1884), was by 
no means an innovation of Subandhu. It is found, for instance, 
in the Pancatantra and the Jdtakas, as well as in the gdthds of 
the Brdhmanas and the Northern Buddhists, even though these 
latter be more archaic than the prose in which they are set. 

Obscure as is the date of the beginning of the kdvya style in 
India, a flood of light has been cast on its early history by 
Buhler in his * Die indischen Inschriften und das Alter der 
indischen Kunstpoesie,' in 6" WA W. i2>2, Abhandlung 11. There 
he has shown that the eulogy of Vatsabhatti, preserved in an 
inscription in the Temple of the Sun at Mandas5r, and dated 
473-474 A.D., contains descriptions of cities, natural phenomena, 
and the like, together with compound words of inordinate length, 
and the rhetorical devices of anuprdsa, upamd, utpreksd, rupaka^ 
and (possibly) virodha, all of which even fulfil the requirements 
laid down, for instance, by Dandin in his Kdvyddarsa. The term 
kdvya itself occurs at least as early as 375-390 A.D. in Harisena's 
panegyric on Samudragupta, inscribed on a pillar at Allahabad, 
which also contains long compounds and the rhetorical figures 
of varndnuprdsa^ rupaka, upamd^ and slesa. The kdvya style 
is carried back to the early second half of the second century A.D. 
by the Gimar inscription of Rudradaman, which has long com- 
pounds and numerous anuprdsas^ together with two upamds and 
one utpreksd. It is thus clear that a fairly developed kdvya was 
known in India as early as the second century of our era, not 



INTRODUCTION 31 

forgetting that the epic of the Rdmdyana contains many approxi- 
mations to the kavya style (Jacobi, Das Rdmdyana, pp. 11 9-1 26, 
Bonn, 1893). 

In the course of time kdvya inscriptions became more elaborate, 
particularly in their use of the slesa. Mention can here be made 
only of the slesas and virodhas in the Valabhi grant of Dhruva- 
sena III, dated in 6^'y6^^ A.D. (Hultzsch, EL i. 85-93) ; the 
Bal5da plates of Tivaradeva, of the middle of the eighth century 
(Hultzsch, ib. 7. 102-107) ; a grant of Indraraja III, dated in 
915 A.D. (Bhandarkar, ib, 9. 34-41); the Cambay plates of 
Govinda IV, dated in 929-930 A.D. (Bhandarkar, ib. 7. 26-47) ; 
and the Devulapalli plates of Immadi Nrsimha, dated in 1504 
(Ramayya, ib. 7. 74-85) ; though allusion should also be made 
to the general style of such an inscription as the Kadaba plates 
of Govinda III, dated in 812-813 A.D. (Liiders, EI, 4. 332-349). 
In the inscriptions of the Vaillabhattasvamin temple at Gwaliar, 
dated in 874-875 A.D. (Hultzsch, EI, i. 154-162), which abound 
in virodhas^ Kielhorn {apiid Hultzsch, EI. i. 157, note 23) has 
already called attention to a possible reminiscence of the dkana- 
dend 'pi pracetasd^ ^ which is <Kubera>, yet «Varuna», for it is 
<generous> and «wise»,* of the Vdsavadattd (ed. Hall, p. iii) in 
the dhanado 'pi na pramatto, ' he was <Kubera>, but not «Varuna», 
for he was <generous> and not ^inattentive)^ ' (line 6). Kielhorn, 
moreover, in his edition and translation of the Radhanpur plates 
of Govinda III, dated in 807-808 A.D. (EI. 6. 239-251), expressly 
declares (p. 240) that ' an examination of the language and 
general style of most of these verses can leave no doubt that 
their author or authors are greatly indebted for their expressions 
and poetical devices to such works as Subandhu's Vdsavadattd 
and Bana's Kddambarl and Harsacarita,' There is no need here 
to repeat the parallels which Kielhorn has drawn between the 
inscription in question and the romances of Subandhu and Bana 
(EI. 6. 247-250), nor is it necessary to make more than a passing 
allusion to the fact that a close examination of Indian epigraphy 
would probably reveal many more parallels to the Vdsavadattd 
and other productions of the ssimc g-enre. It would by no means 



32 VASAVADATTA 

follow, however, that such resemblances necessarily imply 
borrowing from the romances of Subandhu and Bana, for the 
same research would, in all probability, show an equal, or even 
greater, affinity with kdvya literature in general. The kdvya of 
the inscriptions must, therefore, be regarded as an integral part 
of the vast mass of artificial Sanskrit literature, its development 
being attained by a process of natural growth. 

The Commingling of Prose and Verse and Paronomasia Out- 
side the Vasavadatta. Outside of India the commingling of 
prose and poetry in the same composition is found in the Chinese 
romance PHng Shan Leng Yen (tr. Julien, PHng- Chan-Ling- Yen^ 
Les Deux Jeunes Filles lettrees^ % vols., Paris, i85o) ; in Sa*di's 
Gulistdn ; in The Thousand Nights and One Night ; in the Old 
Yicdixd Aucassin et Nicolette ; in Norse Sagas and in Middle Irish 
tales and histories (cf. Windisch, Irische Texte^ 3. 447-449, Leipzig, 
1891-1897) ; and in Boccaccio's VAmeto\ as well as in the Saturce 
MenippecB of Varro ; Petronius ; the author of the Historia 
Apollonii regis Tyri\ and among Basutos and Eskimos (cf. 
MacCulloch, Childhood of Fiction^ London, 1905, pp. 480-481 ; 
Teuffel-Schwabe, Geschichte der romischen Liter attir^ 5 ed., 
pp. 43-44, Leipzig, 1890). In like manner, the elaborate parono- 
masias which are so essentially a part of the style of the Vasava- 
datta^ and which later led to such productions as Kaviraja's Rdgha- 
vapdndavlya, which in identical words celebrates the deeds of the 
Raghu princes by one reading and those of the Pandava heroes 
by the other reading, or Ramacandra's Rasikaranjana (ed. and 
tr. Schmidt, Stuttgart, 1896), which may be read as a laudation 
either of asceticism or of eroticism, were in vogue, as we have 
seen, long before the time of Subandhu.^ They also occur in the 
Chinese romance Ch'^in PHng Mei (cf. Giles, History of Chinese 
Literature^ p. 309, London, 1901) and in the writings of Lyly. 

^ To this list Krishnamachariar (Introd., p. i8) adds Dhanamjaya's DvisandJidna- 
kdvya (ed. Bombay, i%ge^ = Kdvyamdld, No. 49) and the Rdghavayddavapdndavtya, 
or Kathdtrayivydkhydna, of Cidambara and his son Anantanarayana, which gives the 
substance of the Rdmdyam, Mahdbhdratai and Bhdgavatapurdna. Another literary 
curiosity of this general type is the elegy of Leon of Modena on his teacher, Moses 
Bassola, which may be read either in Hebrew or in Italian (cf. Jewish Encyclopedia, 
2. 576, New York, 1902). 



INTRODUCTION ^^ 

Subandhu and Lyly. It is Lyly, indeed, with whom Subandhu 
may perhaps best be compared for a general parallel with the 
style and spirit of the Vdsavadattd. Neither the Etiphues nor 
Subandhu's romance is concerned so much with the matter as 
with the form, although the English author manifests a didactic 
purpose which finds no counterpart in the Sanskrit writer. Like 
the Vdsavadattd^ the Euphues and its continuation contain epi- 
sodes, or stories within stories, as the tale of Callimachus (Lyly, 
ed. Arbor, pp. 327-245, Birmingham, 1868), which itself contains 
the story of Cassander the hermit (pp. 235-239), thus parallelling 
the arrangement not only of the Vdsavadattd and the Kddamharl^ 
but also of the Pancatantra^ ^ukasaptati, Vetdlapancavimsati^ 
The Thottsaiid Nights and One Night, Decamer on ^2,nd other similar 
works.^ Lyly's romance is curiously like Subandhu's in yet other 
respects. Here I may note particularly from his Euphues the use 
of paronomasia, alliteration, antithesis (corresponding respectively 
to Subandhu's employment of slesa, anuprdsa^ and virodha), and 
learned allusions. From the mass of possible citations under 
each category I quote but two of each, (i) Paronomasia : * and 
though they be commonly in a great cholar that receiue the mate, 
yet would I willingly take euery minute tenne mates to enioy Liuia 
for my louing mate ' (Lyly, ed. Arbor, p. 66, Birmingham, 1868) ; 
^ did not lupiters egge bring forth as well Helen a light huswife 
in earth, as Castor a light Starre in heauen?' (p. 208).^ (2) Alli- 
teration : ' these subtill shift es, these painted practises (if I wer to 
be wonne) would soone weane me from the teate of Vesta to the 
toyes of Venus ' (p. 76) ; I am Philautus no Italian lady, who 
commonly are woed with leasings, and won with lust, entangled 
with deceipt, and enioyed with delight, caught with sinne, and 
cast off with shame ' (p. 360). (3) Antithesis : * how curious were 
we to please our Lady, how carelesse to displease our Lorde ? 
Howe devout in seruing our Goddesse, how desperate in forget- 

^ For a charming modern imitation see Bain, Digit of the Mooti (London, 1899), 
^ It is well known that paronomasia occurs not infrequently in Shakespeare (e.g. 
Julius Caesar, i. 2. 155 ; Merchant of Venice , 4. i, 123 ; Taming of the Shrew, 2. i. 
190 ; Richard II, 2. i. 74) ; and it seems to have been a favourite device of Ben Jonson 
(e.g. Mermaid ed., i. 15-16, 20, 68, 106, 344 ; 2. 91 ; 3. 178, 402, London, n. d.). 

D 



34 VASAVADATTA 

ting our God'? (p. io6); 'thou weepest for the death of thy 
daughter, and I laugh at the folly of the father, for greater vanitie 
is there in the minde of the mourner, then bitternesse in the death 
of the deceased. But shee was amiable, but yet sinful, but she 
was young and might haue lined, but she was mortall and must 
haue dyed. I but hir youth made thee often merry, I but thine 
age shold once make thee wise. I but hir greene yeares wer unfit 
for death, I but thy hoary haires should dispyse life' (pp. 182- 
183). (4) Learned allusions : * the filthy Sow when she is sicke, 
eateth the Sea-Crab, and is immediatly recured : the Torteyse 
hauing tasted the Viper, sucketh Origanum and is quickly reuiued: 
the Beare ready to pine licketh vp the Ants, and is recouered : 
the Dog hauing surfetted to procure his vomitte, eateth grasse 
and findeth remedy : the Hart beeing perced with the dart, run- 
neth out of hand to the hearb Dictanum, and is healed Ah 

well I perceiue that Loue is not unlyke the Figge tree, whose 
fruite is sweete, whose roote is more bitter then the clawe of 
a Bitter : or lyke the Apple in Persia, whose blossome sauoreth 
lyke Honny, whose budde is more sower then Gall' (p. 61); 
* Loue knoweth no laws : Did not lupiter transforme himselfe 
into the shape of Amphitrio to embrace Alcmaena? Into the 
forme of a Swan to enioy Laeda : Into a Bull to beguile 16 : Into 
a showre of golde to winne Danae : Did not Neptune chaunge 
himselfe into a Heyfer, a Ramme, a Floud, a Dolphin, onely for 
the loue of those he lusted after ? Did not Apollo conuert him- 
selfe into a Shephearde, into a Birde, into a Lyon : for the desire 
he had to heale his disease ' ? (p. 93). 

Parallels such as these might be multiplied indefinitely, not 
only between the Vdsavadattd and the Euphues, but between 
Subandhu's romance and many other productions both of the 
East and of the West.^ Here, however, it must suffice to note 
that Dunlop, in his History of Prose Fiction (ed. Wilson, London, 
1896), records the following incidents and 7notifs which may now 

1 For parallels in the Vdsavadattd 2nd Bana's romances with The Thousand Nights 
and One Night see Gray, ' Literary Studies on the Sanskrit Novel,' in WZKM. 
18. 39-48. 



INTRODUCTION ^s 

be compared with those in the Vdsavadattd : story within story 
(i. 30, 37 ; 2. 389, 405, 409, 416, 436, 438) ; love from a dream 
(i. 253, 258-259, 380) ; magic steeds (i. 339, 342, 375) ; love 
letters (2. 382-383 ; cf. Schlegel, ' Feuilles d'arbre comme lettres 
d'amour/ in Melanges Charles de Harlez, pp. 271-274, Leiden, 
1896) ; and birds playing a part in affaires de coetir (2. 482). It 
should also be observed that Dunlop repeatedly alludes to Indian 
parallels with Occidental literature (i. 12,64-65, 74, "j^, 109-110, 
210, 306, 318, 413' 459-4^1; ^- S> 30> 49. 53-54, 81, 87-88, 90, 
1 18-120, 127-128, 272, 509, 558-559), although the most of these 
refer to the novel, or ' short story,' and not to the romance. 

The Sanskrit Romance Compared with the Greek. The sole 
national romance literature of the West which has been regarded 
as connected with that of India is the Greek. The view has been 
advanced by Peterson {Kddambari, 2 ed., Introd., pp. 101-104, 
Bombay, 1889, where several parallels are adduced between the 
Kddambari and Achilles Tatios), Weber {Sitzungsberichte der 
Berliner Akademie, phil.-hist. Klasse, 37. 917), and Goblet 
d'Alviella {Ce que Vhide doit a la Grece, p. 136, Paris, 1897) that 
the Indian romance was a direct importation from Greece. This 
hypothesis, however, is rejected by Levi {Quid de Graecis veterum 
Indorum momimenta tradiderint^ p. 60, Paris, 1890) with what 
seems to me to be perfect justice. It is, of course, true that many 
parallels of incident and even of literary device exist between the 
Sanskrit and the Greek romance. Among parallels of incident 
I may note the following, restricting the list to similarities be- 
tween the Greek romances and the Vdsavadattd : falling in love 
from a dream (story of Zariadres and Odatis as recorded by 
AthtndXos^ Deipnosopkistai, 13. ^^ ; this story is clearly of Eastern 
origin ; cf. Rohde, Griechischer Roman, 2 ed., pp. 47-54, Leipzig, 
1900, where the parallel with the Vdsavadattd is expressly noted ; 
for dreams in general in the Greek romances see Rohde, op. cit. 
pp. 508, 524, ^V-^ZZ^ 547, 561, 5^^); svayamvara, or * self- 
choice ' of a husband (also in the story of Zariadres and Odatis ; 
cf. Rohde, op. cit. p. 52) ; letters between lovers (Achilles Tatios, 
Ta Kara AevKLiT'nrjv kol K\etro</)a)rra, 5. 18, 2o ; Niketas Eugenianos, 

D 2 



36 VASAVADATTA 

Ta Kara ApocTLWav kol XapiKXia, Q,. 169—179, 2,02,-2,2^, 24.0— ayjy 
284-314; 5. 199-247; Eustathios, To naO' ^Ta-ixivrjv kol 'Ta-yavLav 
bpaiia, 9. 8; 10. 2; cf. Rohde, op. cit, pp. 513, $(i6)\ fainting 
(Chariton, Ta -n-epl Xaipiav kol KaXkippo-qvy 1.4; 2. 7 J 3-^1 4* 5 > 
8. I ; cf. Rohde, op. cit. p. 172, where the parallel with the Vdsa- 
vadattd is noted) ; long-winded lamentations (Niketas Eugenianos, 
I. 226-257, 289-352; 2. 8-23; 4. 110-150; 5. 131-168, 183- 
193; ^- 34-94, 204-234, 306-327 ; 8. 84-130, 196-238 ; 9. ^'j- 
107 ; cf. Rohde, op. cit. p. ^66) ; and threatened suicide (Chari- 
ton, I. 5 ; 5. 10 ; 6. 2 ; 7. i ; 8. 8 ; cf. Rohde, op. cit. p. 527). The 
following parallels of literary device, similarly restricted, may also 
be noted : stories within stories and episodes (the adventures of 
Derkullis and the sub-episode of Astraios in the lost Ta viikp 
Svkrjv aTTLo-Ta ; the story of Aigialeus in Xenophon Ephesaios, Ta 
Kara "AvOciav kol 'Aj3poK6iJLr}v 'E(^e(rtaKa, 5. I ; and the stories of 
Knemon in Heliodoros's At^ioTrtKa, i. 9-14 ; 2. 8-10 ; and of Kala- 
siris, i3. 2. 24-5. i ; 5. 17-33 5 ^^^^ ^^^ sub-episode of Charikles, 
id. 2. 29-33); descriptions of nature (Niketas Eugenianos, i. 77- 
115 ; Achilles Tatios, i. 15; Longos, UoLfJi€VLKa tcl Kara Ad(f)VLv 
KOL X\67)Vy 4. 2-3) ; detailed personal descriptions (Achilles Tatios, 

1. I ; Niketas Eugenianos, 1. 120-158 ; cf. Rohde, op. cit. pp. 160- 
166) ; learned allusions and citations of precedents (Longos, i. 
16; 4. 17; Achilles Tatios, i. 8 ; 2. '^fi-'^'])', and alliteration, 
parisoiy homoiotelettta, and similar figures of rhetoric which cor- 
respond in a sense to the Sanskrit anuprdsa (Achilles Tatios, i. 
1-2 ; 2. 7 ; 3. 2, 7 ; 4. 4 ; 5. i, 21 ; Longos, preface ; i. 18, 30 ; 

2. 3^ ; 3- 3> 24, 33y 34 ; 4. 18 ; Eustathios, 1.4; 2. 13 ; 4- i, 3> 12, 
21 ; 5. II ; 7. 13 ; cf. Rohde, op. cit. pp. S^2-SS3y 561), although 
they often form rhymes (Achilles Tatios, i. i, 11 ; Longos, pre- 
face; 2. 26; 3. 13, 23; 4. 17, 28; Eustathios, i. 9) and strained 
compounds (Niketas Eugenianos, 1. 133 ; 2. 143 ; 3. 121 ; 5. 341 ; 
7. 48 ; cf. Rohde, op. cit. p. 567). 

Yet all these parallels, and many more which might be cited, 
seem to me to prove nothing. In the first place, a large number 
of them can be considered parallels only by straining the sense 
of the term ; and in the second place, they are obviously the out- 



INTRODUCTION 37 

working of independent, though partially similar, processes in the 
development of Greek and Sanskrit literature respectively, and 
should be interpreted accordingly. But even were an essential 
resemblance granted, it would still be difficult, I think, to prove 
the dependence of the Sanskrit romance on the Greek, the latter 
being, of course, the earlier. The romances of the two peoples 
are totally different both in plan and in spirit, as even a cursory 
reading will show. The least part of the Sanskrit romance is the 
thread of the story or the adventures of its characters ; all the 
stress is laid on rhetorical embellishment, minute description of 
nature, detailed characterisation of exploits and of mental, moral, 
and physical qualities. In the Greek romance, on the other 
hand, as in Latin (if we may judge from the Satirx of Petronius), 
the story is everything. The reader is hurried from adventure 
to adventure, the wilder and more improbable the better ; fine 
writing is practically disregarded ; description and appreciation 
of nature are, to all intents and purposes, non-existent. The only 
Greek romance, it seems to me, that can, by the utmost stretch 
of imagination, be compared even superficially with the works of 
Subandhu and Bana is the Woi\k^viKa. of Longos ; but even there 
the sole real similarity is a longing for nature rather than for 
feverish adventure, a longing which may be traced back to 
Theokritos, Bion, and Moschos on the one hand, and to 
Bhartrhari and his congeners on the other. Even the Dasakuma- 
racarita^ which, as a picaresque romance, one might be tempted 
to compare with the works of Achilles Tatios, Heliodoros, and 
Chariton, has a totally different plan from any Greek romance, 
tracing its * box arrangement ' of stories to the peculiarly Indian 
scheme which may be seen, for instance, in the Pancatantra^ the 
Kathasaritsdgara^ or the Jdtakas^ and which was later carried to 
Persia, where it was incorporated in The Thousand Nights and 
One Nighty ultimately appearing in the Occident in the Decameron 
of Boccaccio.^ The adventures narrated in Dandin's romance of 

1 For the * box arrangement ' in Egyptian see King Khufiti and the Magicians 
(about 2000 B.C. ; tr.Maspero, Contes popiclaires de VEgypte ancienne, 3 ed., pp. 23-42, 
Paris, 1906); and in Japanese cf. Bakin's Shichiya no Kura (1810 A.D. ; Aston, 
History of Japanese Literature^ pp. 359-360, London, 1901). 



38 VASAVADATTA 

roguery, moreover, bear no resemblance, either in plot or in 
episode, to the amorphisms of Eustathios and his fellows. To 
sum up, the spirit of the Sanskrit and of the Greek romancers is 
as divergent as the audiences of scholars on the one hand, and of 
weaklings on the other, for whom they wrote ; nor can any real 
affinity, much less any direct connexion, be traced between the 
romances of India and of Greece. 

The Double Beeension of the Vasavadatta. Like the 
Mahdbhdrata and the Rdmdyana, the Vdsavadaitd appears to be 
preserved in two distinct recensions, which I would tentatively 
call ' northern ' and ' southern.' The first of these is represented 
by the text of Hall (Calcutta, 1859) and the second by the 
Madras edition of i86:j, reprinted as an appendix to the present 
volume, as well as by Krishnamachariar's text (Srirangam, 1906- 
1908). The ' southern ' text, to which Hall's manuscript D seems 
also to belong, differs from the ' northern ' chiefly in showing a 
large number of interpolations, particularly Hesas^ virodkaSy and 
other forms of similes appended to the series given by the 
' northern ' text. The spirit, however, of the ' southern ' recension 
is identical with that of the ' northern.' There is, indeed, one 
omission of a complimentary allusion to the Buddhists (ed. Hall, 
p. 235) and of one derogatory reference to the Jains (ed. Hall, 
p. 297 ; cf. above, p. 7), but the retention of all other deprecia- 
tory mentions of both sects shows that the ' southern ' redactor 
was not led to modify his text by any circumstances surrounding 
him ; nor is there any added allusion in the ' southern ' text which 
seems to be specifically South Indian. It may be regarded as 
practically certain that the ' northern ' text represents Subandhu's 
original composition more closely than does the ' southern ' 
recension, not only in view of the fact that the author of the 
romance was, in all probability, a native of northern India, where 
he almost indubitably wrote (cf. above, pp. 13-13), but also in 
consideration of the familiar principles of textual criticism that 
the shorter text is, other things being equal, to be preferred to 
the longer, and that the more difficult reading is to be preferred 
to the easier, since the ' southern ' recension evidently seeks, by 



INTRODUCTION 39 

substitution or omission, to avoid many difficulties of word, 
phrase, or allusion which the ' northern ' text boldly retains. 

Manuscripts and Editions of the Romance. For the manu- 
scripts of the Vdsavadattd and its commentators reference may 
be made to the catalogues of Sanskrit manuscripts enumerated 
by Aufrecht {Catalogus Catalogorzim, i. ^66, 726; 2. 133-134, 
224 : 3. 120, Leipzig, 1 891-1903). The principal commentators 
on the Vdsavadattd have been discussed by Hall (Introd., 
pp. 44-48), and I myself have written on •' Sivarama's Com- 
mentary on the Vdsavadattd' (in JAOS. 24. 57-63), so that the 
problems there treated need not be repeated in this place. 

Although the editions of Subandhu's romance will be duly 
listed in the bibliography (see below, pp. 197-198), a more detailed 
discussion seems appropriate here. These editions are seven in 
number. The first and best-known, which represents the 
' northern' recension, is that of Fitzedward Hall (Calcutta, 1859), 
based on eight manuscripts and accompanied by the gloss of 
Sivarama Tripathin, who flourished early in the eighteenth 
century. The introduction to this edition has become a classic 
among Sanskritists, and the learning which it evinces on every 
page renders it amply deserving of this honour. Hall's text, how- 
ever, represents a form really older than any of his manuscripts, 
being that of Sivarama, in whose favour the editor repeatedly 
discarded the united authority of all his manuscripts, a method of 
textual criticism which may perhaps be considered open to objec- 
tion. The text of Hall has been reprinted verbatim by Jivananda 
Vidyasagara (Calcutta, 1874; 3d ed., 1907). The remaining five 
editions belong to the ' southern ' recension. Of these the earliest 
is one in Telugu script (Madras, 1861), which was reprinted, with 
a correction of misprints, in Telugu (Madras, 1862) and Grantha 
script (Madras, 1870). The second of these, duly collated with 
the India Office copies of the other two, which Mr. F. W. Thomas, 
librarian of the India Office, London, most kindly placed at my 
disposal, is transcribed below (pp. 145-195). The text of this 
'southern' recension is evidently later than the ' northern', since 
it abounds in interpolations, especially in the lengthened Mesas and 



40 VASAVADATTA 

virodhas. The three editions under consideration contain the same 
commentary, which has appeared to me to be negh'gible, and 
which, according to Mr. J. K. Balasubrahmanyam, the publisher 
of the Srirangam text (Pref. p. i) to be mentioned below, 'is 
traditionally attributed to one Tippa Bhupala, but nothing is 
certain about it. For instance, just as we were completing this 
book we got a palm-leaf manuscript of this work containing a 
commentary said to be by one Ramanatha. On closer exami- 
nation it turned out to be neither more nor less than the 
commentary given in the Grantha and Telugu editions.' The 
same general recension, though with a number of interesting 
variations, is represented by the edition published at Srirangam 
in 1906-1908, on the basis of several old palm-leaf manuscripts. 
It also contains an admirably full, careful, and suggestive modern 
Sanskrit commentary and an equally noteworthy Sanskrit intro- 
duction by the editor, R. V. Krishnamachariar, of which I have 
most helpfully availed myself. I distinctly consider Hall's and 
this as the best editions of the Vdsavadattd that have yet 
appeared. The Telugu text is also represented, more closely, by 
T. V. Srinivasachariar's edition (Trichinopoly, 1906), which, I 
regret to say, seems to me to offer scope for some improvement. 
All the divergencies of the Madras, Srirangam, and Trichinopoly 
editions from the text of Hall will be found duly recorded in the 
footnotes to the present translation, while the variations of the 
* southern ' from the ' northern ' recension will be indicated by 
parentheses in the appended transliteration, the portions of the 
' northern ' text omitted by the ' southern ' being there supplied 
in square brackets. It will be clear that a critical text of the 
Vdsavadattdy which shall take into account all accessible manu- 
scripts, commentaries, and editions, is still a desideratum. 

The Eemaining Sanskrit Prose Romances. Except for a 
digression on the relation sometimes held to exist between the 
Sanskrit and the Greek romance (see above, pp. 35-38), this 
Introduction to the Vdsavadattd has thus far purposely been 
restricted to Subandhu and his work, especially as Meyer 
(Dandifis Dacahumdracaritam^ die Abenteuer der zehn Prinzen^ 



INTRODUCTION 41 

pp. T-139, Leipzig, 1902) and Collins {The Geographical Data of 
the Raghuvamsa and the Dasakumdracarita considered more 
especially in their Bearing upon the Date of these Works ^ Leipzig, 
1907) have devoted admirable studies to Dandin, while Peterson 
(Kddambarl, 1 ed., Introd., Bombay, 1889) has done a similar 
service for Bana. Moreover, the Dasaknmdracarita, Harsacarita, 
and Kddambarl are all readily accessible, not only in numerous 
editions, which need not be enumerated here, but also in excellent 
translations (the Dasakumdracarita by Meyer, op. cit.^ and by 
Haberlandt, Munich, 1903 ; the Harsacarita by Cowell and 
Thomas, London, 1897 ; and the Kddambarl by Ridding, 
London, 1896). It may not be amiss, however, to add a brief 
outline of such other Sanskrit romances as have thus far been 
analysed, though it must be borne in mind that further investiga- 
tions and additional and fuller catalogues of Sanskrit manuscripts 
will, in all probability, add to the sum of dkhydna literature.^ 
Omitting campus on Rama, Krsna, Aniruddha, and Nala, as well 
as rifacimenti of the Mahdbhdrata and Rdmdyana^ and pseudo- 
histories of Salivahana and Mayuravarman, attention may here 
be called to two late Sanskrit romances. The first of these is 
the Yasastilaka of Somadeva, who completed his romance in 
959 A.D. The work has been analysed in detail by Peterson 
{Second Report of Operations in Search of Sanskrit Manuscripts 
in the Bombay Circle, pp. 33-49, Bombay, 1884) and has been 
edited by Sivadatta and Parab {Kdvyantdld, No. 70, 2 parts, 
Bombay, 1 901-1903). It is a religious romance, treating of the 
conversion of Maridatta, king of Rajapura, from Brahmanism to 
Jainism through the agency of his twin nephew and niece, whom 
he was about to offer in sacrifice, not knowing who they were, and 
through the arguments of the Jain sage Sudatta. The familiar 
device of the story within a story, whereby Maridatta's nephew 

1 Krishnamachariar (Introd., pp. 1-2) notes the paucity of works of this type, but 
he enumerates the following which would otherwise have escaped my notice : Dhana- 
pala's Tilakamanjari (ed. Bombay, \^o'^ = Kdvyamdld, No. 85), the Jain romance 
Gadyacinidtnani (variously ascribed to Vadibhasirnha, Pradlpasimha, and Simhasuri), 
Abhinavabhattabana's Vtrandrdyana and Haricandra's Jivandharacampu , the frag- 
mentary Srlkrsnacarita of Agastyakavi, the lost Trdilokyasundart of Rudra, and 
the losXTarangavatt. He also attempts to account for this scantiness (pp. 2-8). 



42 VASAVADATTA 

tells his uncle all his history, and a series of reincarnations, as 
in the Dasaktimdracarita and Kddambari} are both found in 
Somadeva's romance, while learned precedents and, what is still 
more remarkable, explicit quotations from other poets, including 
Bana, abound. Altogether, it is clear from Peterson's admirable 
analysis that the Yasastilaka richly deserves translation, both 
as belonging to a category of Sanskrit literature of which too 
few specimens are extant, and as a valuable source for additional 
knowledge of the tenets of the Jains. 

The second romance which should be noted in this connexion 
is Banesvara Vidyalamkara Bhattacarya's Citracampu^ written in 
1744 A.D. in honour of Citrasena, king of Vardhamana, and 
briefly analysed by Eggeling {Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manu- 
scripts in the Library of the India Office^ 7. 1 543-1545, London, 
1904). This novel is characterised especially by a long dream, 
and by an unmistakable inculcation of Vaisnavite Vedantism ; 
otherwise it offers but little of interest. 

^ See 'Reincarnation as a Novelistic Device', in WZKM. i8. 54-58. For reincar- 
nation in a modern Western novel see Margaret Potter's Flame- Gatherers (London, 
1904), and '^^^wi^ Descent of the 6'z^« (London, 1903), The earliest example known 
is the Egyptian Tale of the Two Brothers^ vi^ritten in the nineteenth dynasty (1375- 
1202 B.C.; tr. Maspero, Contes populaires de V^gypte ancienne, 3 ed., pp. 3-20, 
Paris, 1906), 



[Dr. Ogden draws my attention to a reference to Subandhu 
in an anthology of a certain Laksmana, described by Peterson 
(Third Report of Operations in Search of Sanskrit Manuscripts 
in the Bombay Circle^ p. '^^y Bombay, 1887) under the title of 
Suktdvali. The stanza, whose date is thus far unknown, is as 
follows (Peterson, op. cit.y Appendix, p. ^^) : 

jiydd gadyasudhddhunydh 

subandhuh prabhavdcalah 
yad bhangdslesam dsddya 

bhahgah kavibhir dsritah, 

* may Subandhu, in strength immovable, prevail over the nectarous 
stream of prose, for since he gained combination after the break- 
ing (of words into their component parts), the breaking (of words 
into their component parts) has been employed by poets.'] 



vAsavadattA of subandhu 



45 



[i] Victorious is divine Sarasvati, 

Who aideth bards of keen and nimble wit 
To see the world, as 'twere a jujube-fruit, 
Lying within the hollow of their hands. 

Victorious, too, is Hari, resting now, 

The while he smileth on the shepherd lads 

Whose upraised arms bend ^ 'neath the awful weight 

Of their vast burden ; yet cry unto him : 

' Ah, weary art thou, let the mountain be ; 

We will sustain it, Krsna, lord of all ' ! 

[3] May he ^ whose waist is girded keep you safe, 
Yea, he whose serried furrows brightly shine ; 
E'en while the zone he hath too tightly drawn 
Doth work distraction by its beauteousness.^ 

[4] Victorious is the god ^ whose crescent gleams 
Like to a silvern pearl by Uma set ^ 
Upon his brow, when from his blazing eye 
She gathereth the black collyrium. 

How blessed are those souls beneficent 
Who work the weal of others, for to them 
The moon that openeth the lotus-buds 
Doth give a twofold meed of radiance ^ ! 

[5] The wise say sooth : ' More loathsome than a snake 
Is he whose soul is filled with wickedness': 
The serpent <hateth the ichneumon tribe), 
But leaves his brethren safe ; while knavish folk 
With venomed tongues <destroy their nearest kin>J 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' arms bent in vain.' ^ Krsna. 

^ Tel. ed. interchanges this stanza with the one following. 

* ^iva. ^ Srirangam text, against the metre, adds * upon his head. 

6 Translated in Bohtlingk, Indische Spruche, 2 ed. , No. 455 a, St. Petersburg, 1870-1873. 

'^ Bohtlingk, op. cit. No, 6214. The stanza is still popular in Mithila (see Grierson, 



46 VASAVADATTA 

[6] In evil only are the wicked wise ; 

Like as the owl is blind, save in the dark.^ 

There is but one eclipse — foul calumny ; 

Only the clouds that hide the moon are black.^ 

[7] And when with sooty and polluting touch 
The man of evil fain would smirch the good, 
He doth increase the radiance of the just ; 
P2'en as the ashes in the grinder's hand 
Do but enhance the lustrous mirror's sheen.^ 

Yet <drought doth rule) o'er all, the «cranes sport not», 

Nor doth the «<heron seek the azure vault»>, 

For lo, the lake hath left this mortal world ; 

All <joy is fled>, and «strange kings now bear rule». 

Wasting the earth with «<fratricidal>» strife, 

For Vikramaditya hath passed away.^ 

[8] The words of goodly bards rejoice thine ears, 

E'en when thou knowest not their wondrous skill ; 
For in a jasmine wreath thine eyes delight, 
Though to thy senses come no perfumes sweet.^ 

The noble gain true knowledge of themselves 
By observation of their fellow men ; 
As on the mirror's polished surface falls 
The vision of the soul's own magnitude.^ 

Curiosities of Indian Literature, pp. 8-9, Bankipore, 1895, who says : 'Here naku- 
ladvesi'\% a threefold pun. It means either "hating the ichnenmon," or "not hating 
his own race," or " not hating the members of the family of the man he has bitten ").' 
My attention was kindly called to this reference by Professor Zachariae (card of May 2, 
1907), and Dr. Grierson very courteously loaned me his personal copy of the little 
book. It should be noted that the modem proverb reads nirsd na instead of na mrsa. 

1 Bbhtlingk, Indische Spriiche, 2 ed., No. 142, St. Petersburg, 1870-1873. 

2 Bohtlingk, op. cit. No. 6126 ; Tel. ed. and Srirangam text interchange this stanza 
with the one following. 

^ Bohtlingk, op. cit. No. 7376. 

* For the valuelessness of this stanza as a source to determine the date of the 
Vasavadattd see Introduction, pp. 8-1 1. 
^ Bohtlingk, op. cit. No. 680. 
^ Bohtlingk, op. cit. No. 2148. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 47 

[9] Through great Sarasvati this book was writ 
By Sujana's one brother, whom mankind 
Doth call Subandhu, skilled full dextrously 
To interweave in every word a pun.^ 

[10] There was a king named Cintamani, whose like had 
never existed,^ whose nail-jewelled feet were unscarred, though 
rubbed by the edge of a touchstone which was the series of the 
beautiful crest-gems of the circle of all the princes of the earth. 

[11] He caused astonishment by <gifts of gold, food, raiment, 
and estates) as Nrsirnha caused astonishment by <rending the 
body of Hiranyakasipu) ^ ; he gave joy to the <divinities by his 
goods) as Krsna gave joy to <Vasudeva> ; [12] he <conquered 
with ease) the circle of the earth as Narayana <upheld) the circle 
of the world by his <boar's form) ; he produced <glorious and 
blissful) prosperity as Kamsa's foe produced prosperity for 
<Yasoda and Nanda) ; he made <poetry honoured) as Anaka- 
dundubhi made <Kavya afraid)^; [13] he had his lotus ^ feet 
embellished by the rays ^ of the crest-jewels of <many serpents) 
as Sagarasayi had his lotus ^ feet embellished by the rays ^ of the 
crest-jewel of the <cosmic serpent) ; he protected <unceasingly) as 
Varuna protected the <western regions) ; he adorned <petitions 
with gifts) as Agastya adorned the <southern districts) ; he was 
the lord of a hundred <armies) and «habitually levied just taxes» 
as the ocean is the lord of a hundred <rivers) and is the «habitat 
of fish»; [14] he was followed by a <great army) and repulsed 
^obstacles» as Hara is followed by <Mahasena) and repulses 
«Mara» ; he was the home of the <wise) and the dwelling-place 
of the «acts of all men» as Meru is the home of the <gods) and 
the dwelling-place of «:Visvakarman» ; he <rejoiced in generosity 
at festal times) and removed sorrow by his «beauty» as the sun 
doves not the night) and removes the sorrow of «Chaya» ; he 

1 Omitted by Tel. ed. and Srirangam text. Cf. Introduction, p. 13. 

2 Tel. ed., * of no mean nature.' For a somewhat similar description of a king see 
Kddambari, pp. 7-14, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 3-5, London, 1896). 

3 Cf. Visnupurdna, i. 17-20. * Cf. Harivamia, 59. 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * lotus.' ^ Tel. ed., * series.' 



48 VASAVADATTA 

gave <unimpeded> prosperity and afforded delight in ^intercourse^ 
as the God of the Flowery Banner^ gave prosperity to <Ani- 
ruddha> and afforded delight to «Rati». 

[15] Though a <demigod>, he was a «god», for he was a 
«benevolent:» <receptacle of wisdom> ; though a <Dhrtarastra>, he 
was a ^friend of Bhima», for he was a <ruler of a kingdom) 
«who loved virtue» ; though <come to earth), he took refuge ^ in 
the ^courts of the gods», for he was <filled with patience) and 
took refuge^ in «good government:^; [16] though a <great reed) 
by nature, he was «:smooth» within, for his was the nature of 
<Arjuna)j «upright» within ; [17] though born of a <buffalo), he 
was <SCbegotten by a bull», for he was born of a <queen) and was 
a ^producer of government» ; though no <central gem of a neck- 
lace), he was the «midmost jewel of a throat-band», for he was 
a <fearless), «mighty leader». 

While he ruled the earth, <quibblings ^ and fallacies) were 
practised only in arguments * (for there was no need of <habitually 
checking deceit) ^) ; [18] there was <infidelity) only among 
materialists (for there was no <poverty)) ; there was employment 
of a <spur) only in executing commands^ (for there was no 
employment of <petty enemies)) ; there was <picking) [19] only 
on lutes (for there was no <back-biting)) ; there was association 
with <threshing-floors) only in the case of rice (for there was no 
association with <evil men)) ; there was capture of <snakes) only 
among serpent-charmers (for there was no need to capture 
<liars)) ; <imposts) were cut only in the receipt of taxes (for there 
was no amputation of <hands> '^) ; <roots) were plucked out only 
in the case of «wormwood-trees» (for <Sascetics:^ did not pluck 
out their <eyes)) ; [20] only lotuses opposed the <moon) (for there 
was no opposition to <Brahmans) ^) ; <' ruler of the world ') was 
■ applied only to the elephant of the north ^ (but not to any man 

^ Kama. 2 Srirangam text, ' he was the refuge of.' 

3 Srirangam text adds * fntile answers.' * Tel. ed., *only in Nyaya textbooks.' 

^ Srirangam text adds * and castes.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' only in ySga-exercises.' 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' there was hand-cutting only in blossoms.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the king.* 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * only to the world-elephants.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 49 

save the <king>) ; there were <fire-tests and balance-tests> only in 
the case of different sorts of gold (for there were no <ordeals by 
fire or balance) ^) ; only jewels were <pierced by needles) (for 
there was no <disturbance by suggestive movements)) ; only in 
child-bearing ^ was there rending with <griping pains) (for there 
was no rending by <impalement)) ; [21] <Duhsasana was known) 
only in the Bhdrata ^ (for there was no <glimpse of evil instruc- 
tion)) ; the <sun's rays opened leaves)* only in the case of lotuses 
(for there was no <sawing asunder) ^). 

Though the Great Boar was intent on upholding the <earth), 
yet he (Cintamani) clove <mountains). Raghava entered the 
forest with <Sita) leaving his native land (but Cintamani entered 
the forest having his <native land)). Bharata had affection for 
Rama, yet made <Rama depart) from his kingdom (but Cinta- 
mani made <peace) in his kingdom). [22] When Nala was united 
to DamayantI it was a <marriage of one already wedded) (but 
Cintamani <regained his territory)). Prthu (levelled the earth by 
banishing the mountains)^ (but Cintamani (covered the earth by 
sending forth his offspring) '^). There was, therefore, no reason to 
mention former kings.^ 

He, moreover, was another sort of monarch and had humbled 
all the princes on earth. Thus he was a mountain with a visible 
exaltation of <peak), which never ceased to delight the «Gan- 

1 In the ordeal by balance the accused was twice weighed. If he was lighter at the 
second weighing than at the first, he was acquitted ; but if heavier, he was condemned. 
In the fire-ordeal the defendant was required to carry a heated metal pot a certain 
distance, and was adjudged innocent if his hands, which might be bound with leaves 
as a partial protection, remained unburned (see Jolly, Recht unci Sitte, p. 145, 
Strassburg, 1896). 

2 Tel. ed., * in new (i.e. ' first') child-bearings of young women'; Srirangam text, 
* in child-bearings.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'in the Alahdbhdrata.^ 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the opening of leaves of lotuses by the rays of the 
sun was the very utmost decree.' 

^ Cf. the Iranian legend of the sawing asunder of Yima by Spityura ( Yast^ 19. 46). 

^ Cf. Mahdbhdrata, 7. 69. 

■^ This rendering seems justified, by the context and by the paronomasiac meanings of 
the words employed, although the commentary does not allude to the applicability of 
the passage to Cintamani. 

8 Tel. ed. adds ' but rather (there was occasion) of blame (of them).' 

E 



50 VASAVADATTA 

dharvas who roamed along its slopes^ ; for he never ceased, with 
his visible exaltation of <majesty>, to delight the «steeds that 
bore his army». [23] He was a <Himalaya>, though not shaken 
by «snow» nor suited to the birth of «Uma», for he was <indeed 
a lotus> unshaken by «pride» and unsuited for the birth of 
«deceit». He was a «snowy» <bullock>-banner set upon a 
«:hill», for he was «:indeed exalted in speech» and set as a banner 
of <justice>. 

He was a <wind>, <bending all the forest down), <a friend of 
the fire>, <eager for the clouds>, and <bearing along the flowers) ; 
for he was <ever patient), <straightening every crooked way),^ 
<foremost of ascetics), <not avid of sensual pleasures),^ and the 
<joy of the wise). [24] He was a mine of gems <with no 
serpents),^ exceeding * deep its <boundaries), <no otter a terror to 
it), ever a very refuge for <fishes), <filled with water), <bearing 
ships),^ whereto (belonged) the <mountain^ and the crocodile), 
<the mighty lord of rivers), the <ocean) ; [25] for he was <no 
knave),"^ exceeding * deep his <decorum), <no light of his dismaying 
any), ever a refuge like the <moon),^ <delightsome), <rich in 
children),^ <his serenity unshaken), <great, proud), and <with 
a signet ring). [26] As the moon causes joy in the <night 
season), is the friend ^^ of <white lotuses), has his mansion filled 
with all the <digits), and is <unsurpassed by the constellations) ; 
he caused joy in the <festivals), was the friend ^^ of <pleasure 
groves on earth), had his mansion filled with all the <arts), and 
<subdued the excessive might of his foes). As Sumeru caused 
the <sun to rise), gave a <golden glory), and had <wealth sur- 
passing the (other) mountains) ; he caused the <prosperity of his 
friends), possessed <every beauty), and had <good fortune im- 
pregnable and abundant). 

* Or, « banishing all famine.' "^ Or, ' eager for the gods.' 

3 Tel. ed., * with no timayas ' (glossed as ' a sort of fish,' i. e. 'a whale ') ; Srirangam 
text, * with no fear of serpents.' * Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * with a good bed.' ^ Mainaka. 

' Tel. ed., * unbending ' ; Srirangam text, ' fearing not his subjects.' 
' Tel. ed., * ever with a moon-like mind." 
® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' receptacle of virtue.' 
" Tel. ed., ' the one friend.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 51 

[27] Even had Arjuna been ever with them, the ranks of his 
foes would not have been equal to the <combats in the Mahdbhd- 
rata>, for they were not equal to <bearing great burdens). Though 
<Bhisma>, he was «unkind to Santanu:^, for he was <terrible> and 
had a ^ceaseless desire for glory3> ; though <wandering on the 
mountains), «he dwelt not on the hills», for he was <accompanied 
by his attendants) and ^needed not the admiration of his 
family)). 

[f?8] And, furthermore, he <wavered ^ not from the path of 
a warrior), as Trisanku ^ <wavered ^ in the path of the constella- 
tions) ; though he was <Siva), «he drank no poison)), for he was 
a <giver of weal) and <Knot depressed)) ; though he was a <fire), 
he was not a «flame», for he was a <purifier) and free from «evil 
habits» ; though he was a <burner), he was not a «consumer», 
for he had a donging for hermitages) and was no «:destroyer» ; 
[29] he was no Yama <snatching life away suddenly), for he did 
not <deprive of life without reason) ; he was no Rahu increasing 
his <radiance by swallowing the sun's disc),^ for he did not increase 
his <greed by seizing the kingdom of a friend); he was no Nala 
crushed ^ by <Kali), for he was not crushed * by <strife) ; he was 
no Cakri exhilarated by the death of <Srgala),^ for he was not 
exhilarated by the death of a <craven); he was attended by 
<glory and generosity) as the cowherd Nanda was attended by 
<Yasoda) ; he <planned peace and war) as Jarasanda's <body was 
disrupted union) ^ ; he possessed <generosity and luxury) as 
Bhargava <ever wandered in the clouds) ; [30] he was attended 
by <good friends) and commanded «good counsel)> as Dasaratha 
was attended by <Sumitra) and commanded «Sumantra» ; he 
was <de voted to worthy objects of generosity) and protected 
the «earth» as Dilipa was <beloved by Sudaksina) and protected 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'fell.' 

* Srirangam text, ' though Trisanku .... for he had triple powers.' 
^ Cf. Mahdbkdrata, i. 19. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * having his body conquered ' j cf. Mahdbhdrata, 
3- 58-61. 

^ Cf. Harivamsa, 100. 
^ Cf. Mahdbhdrata, 2. 17. 

E a 



52 VASAVADATTA 

the «cow» ^ ; his glory was exalted by his <virtuous life) as 
Rama's glory was exalted by the <birth of Kusa and Lava>. 

He had a son named Kandarpaketu. He was the <joy of the 
hermits) as the coral-tree <stands in Indra's garden)^; [31] he 
<produced weal) as Himalaya was the <birthplace of Siva); 
he was <marked by his luxurious pleasures) as Mandara is 
<scarred by the body of the serpent) ; his <crores were enjoyed 
by great kings) as Kailasa's (summit is enjoyed by the Great 
Lord) ^ ; he gave pleasure to many <women) as the spring gives 
pleasure in many (gardens) ; [3:^] he made the <earth) resound 
as Mandara, lifted on high in the churning of the ocean of milk, 
made the <water) resound ; he <took delight in love) as the God 
of Passion's Bond * (rejoices Rati) ; he was shaken by (meditation) 
as the collected ashes of Siva are shaken at (twilight) ^ ; [33] he 
had a (pure heart) and ^^clung to Visnu's feet» as an autumn 
cloud has a (lurid centre) and ^depends from the sky» ® ; he was 
accustomed to (all passion and merriment) as Arjuna was accus- 
tomed to be (courageous in battle) ; [34] he was adorned with 
a (garland of the circle of the earth) as Kamsa was adorned 
with a (blue lotus garland) ; he gave joy to the (humble) "^ and 
^delighted the wise» as Tarksya gave joy to (Vinata) "^ and had 
«Sumukha for a son» ; he (clasped) a beautiful form to his 
«breast» as Visnu (changed) his beautiful form into a «boar»; 
he had (time and justice) put into his own power as Santanava 
had (Death) put into his own power ; [^s] he governed (full 
happily) as the host of Kauravas was led by (Susarman). 

Though (Subahu),^ he was a joy to «Rama», for he had 
(beautiful arms) and gave joy to «women» ; though he had (two 

^ Cf. Raghuvamsa, 1-2. 

2 The heaven of Indra, the home of warriors fallen in battle, and the future hope of 
popular classic Hinduism, is particularly renowned for its wonderful coral-tree, which, 
according to Visnupurdna, 5. 30, was produced at the churning of the ocean of milk, 
and which has golden bark, copper-coloured leaves, and flowers of surpassing 
fragrance. ^ Siva. 

4 Kama. ^ An allusion to diva's revel dances at nightfall. 

G Srirangam text, ' he had a <pure heart> as an autumn cloud has a <lurid centre) ; 
he <clung to Visnu's feet> as the moon <depends from the sky>.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit. 

8 Cf. Rdmdyana, i. 30, 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE ^^ 

cyes>, he was «Siva», for he was a «great monarch» who <gazed 
on all alike) ; though <made of pearls), his «waist had no central 
jewel», for he was <free from disease) and «virile» ; as a cloud 
1^6] <terrifies flamingoes with showers of exceeding purity), he 
<slew kings terrified by the edge of his flashing sword) ; though 
a light upon a <pole), his «wick was not consumed», for he was 
the light of his <race) and his «estate was unimpaired». 

The noble, resembling oceans with beauteous <mountains), 
with <waters) increased exceedingly, and with <contented crea- 
tures), attained their highest growth through him who was, as it 
were, the moon when its «house has all its digits, removes the 
distress of night, opens the white lotuses)^, [37] is a friend to 
«white lotus groves»,^ and «adorns a quarter of the sky» ; for 
the noble, with <radiant limbs), with <life) increased exceedingly, 
and with <amiable qualities), [38] attained their highest growth 
through him who was the ^ome of the aggregation of all virtues, 
delighted in Siva's way, destroyed his enemies^, was a friend of 
^pleasure groves on earth»,^ and had his «hopes fulfilled)>. 

And the hearts of women rejoiced at the sight of him who 
was like the God of the Dolphin Banner, causing <Aniruddha) 
delight, <dear to Rati), and <armed with an arrow of flowers) ; for 
he caused <unimpeded) delight, was a <friend of wantonness), and 
<surpassed the Flower-God). For him who was as the spring 
with the <attendant southern breeze), with <sweet koel-notes)^ 
pleasing the ear,^ expanding the <buds), making the <forests 
bend), [39] <delightsome with fragrant flowers), with <lotuses) 
easy for all to gather, possessing an abundance of <white thorn- 
apple trees) spread abroad, but passing over the <wormwood>, 
damsels felt attachment, being like creepers of the forest with 
a thousand ^buds», crowded with «bees», charming with 
«sprigs», and with «:sportive birds» ; since he had a <continual 



1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit. 

2 The notes of the koel, or Indian cuckoo {^Etidynamis orientalis^ Linn.), though in 
themselves scarcely pleasant, are hailed with delight as a harbinger of spring, and the 
bird is, therefore, regarded as a friend of love. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the eye and ear.' 



54 VASAVADATTA 

income for the attendant nobles>,^ possessed a <sweet koel-voice> 
pleasing the ear,^ expanded <love>, gave a <charming colour to 
women>, <delighted in learned sages), possessed <good fortune) 
easy for all to gather, spread abroad an abundance of <gold>, and 
surpassed his <foes>, while the damsels [40] were filled with 
a thousand «anxieties», were sought by «lovers»,^ were charming 
because of their «:coral necklaces»,* and were at the «wanton age». 

And by his staff-like arm on the field of battle [41] the bow 
was gained, by the bow the arrows, by the arrows his foeman's 
head, by this ^ the world,^ by this "^ a leader such as had never 
been before, by the leader fame, by fame the seven seas, by the 
seas the renown of the kings of the Krta and other ages, and by 
that ^ constancy, and by this ^ something marvellous every instant. 
And the periphery of the bosoms of the lovely wives of his foes, 
who had been consumed by the fire of his majesty, was deserted 
by their pearl necklaces, as if terrified by the blows of their hands. 

[4^] And his sword, as if coloured with lac from the feet of 
the Goddess of Victory which had been moistened with the 
blood of slain infantry, elephants, and horses, shone over a sea of 
conflict whose shores were covered with quantities of pearls ^^ 
fallen from must elephants' ^^ frontal lobes which were shattered 
by sharp arrows, with flying <birds>, with hundreds of <rivers and 
white and blue lotuses) whose manifold charms were spread 
through the <beautiful> waters,^^ with ^^ <dancing waters), and 
terrible because of the fierce pride of the <cdrubhata>-fvsh. which 



1 Or, ' was a competency for his retainers, sages, and honourable men.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * the eye and ear.' 

8 Or, ' had curls on their foreheads.' * Or, • because of their long hair.' 

^ Tel. ed, and Srirangam text, *by the foeman's head.' 

6 Tel. ed., ' by the world unprecedented renown as a leader, and by renown fame.' 
■^ Srirangam text, ' by the world.' ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' by renown.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' by constancy.' ^^ Srirangam text, ' round pearls.' 
11 The frontal lobe of an elephant is believed to contain a pearl, called kunjaramani 

or gajamaiii, which is possessed of magic properties (Crooke, Popular Religion and 

Folk-Lore of Northern India^ 2 ed., 2. 240, Westminster, 1896). 
^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, not alluding to pun, * with tortoises (clinging) on the 

feet of elephants coming up from the beautiful water, with lovely white and blue 

lotuses, with hundreds of rivers.' 
13 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' undulating with.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 55 

were eager to consort with the [43] <surasundaris> ; since it 
shone on a sea of conflict^ whose shores were covered with 
quantities of pearls fallen from must elephants' frontal lobes 
which were shattered by sharp arrows, with flying <darts>, with 
hundreds of <fleshless, white-umbrellaed armies) whose manifold 
charms were spread through the <red> waters, with ^ <convulsing 
corpses), and terrible because of the fierce pride of <warriors> 
eager to consort with the <Apsarasas>. 

[44] Then, once upon a time, when the night was finished ; 
when the Lotus-Lord of shell-like beauty was sinking with his 
spouse, the Night, into the western ^ sea ; while he was white, as 
it were, with the curds which constitute a morsel of food for 
(Buddhist) ascetics at their mealtime, and was like a mass of 
Yamuna's foam by night, and resembled a fragment of stone* 
for the polishing of Menaka's nails, and had the shade of the 
soma-plant in the centre of his body, and resembled the silvern 
earring ^ of a head laid softly down on the pillow of the western 
mount, and seemed to be the goblet of Lady Night containing 
a remnant of wine ; [45] when the bees had their feet caught in 
the pollen of the white lotuses which had been converted into 
cold ^ paste by the dew ; when by their soft chatter the mainas 
revealed women at their rendezvous ; when the huts of the 
ascetics awoke intent on study ; when the streets resounded with 
poetic tales chanted by mendicants in the vibhdsa mode"^; [46] 
when the lamps seemed unable, because of their exceeding thin- 
ness,^ to bear the blackness of night ^ which they had entirely 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' in the forefront of battle, as on a sea terrible with 
the roaring noise of soldiers marching in eagerness to consort with the iVpsarasas ' — 
apparently with no attempt to pun. 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' undulating with.' 

3 The distinctly conventional character of Subandhu's romance is well illustrated by 
his making the moon set in the west because the sun does. 

^ Tel. ed., ' crystalline stone ' ; Srirangam text, ' fragment of white stone for the 
polishing.' 

^ Tel. ed., * the circle of the silvern earring of night, with her head softly resting," 
etc. ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' cold, icy water.' 

■^ Tel. ed., '^a^amode.' ^ Or, 'emptiness.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'mass of nocturnal blackness.' 



S6 VASAVADATTA 

swallowed up, and which they vomited, as it were,^ under the 
guise of lampblack, and were exhausted by having stretched 
their necks a hundred times as if to see the tremulous delights 
of amorous union,^ [47] and had been witnesses of manifold ways 
of wanton sport,^ seeming to protect the darkness* lurking 
beneath them as if it were a refugee ; when they had become 
<dull> because their «:oil» had been consumed as knaves^ 
become <slack> because their «afifections2> have been consumed ; 
when they had reached the end of their <wicks> as the exceed- 
ingly aged reach the end of their <lives> ; when they had only 
their <bowls> left as noble lords reduced in their estate have 
only their <bodies> left ; [48] when they were <put in the middle 
of the house) as demons <wander abroad at the end and middle of 
night); when they had <moths) flying about them as the <sun) 
descends on the summit of the western mount ; when the gifts of 
flowers in the boudoirs, that had been noisy with the humming ® 
of swarms of bees delighting"^ in the abundance of unceasing 
drops ^ of honey had withered ; [49] when the downy Nepal 
jasmines had fallen from the tresses ; when fair women seemed 
to be pouring forth teardrops for grief at separation from their 
lovers ^ and, with bud-like feet ^^ tinkling with anklets, delayed, 
as it were, the departure of their best beloved ; when the mist of 
perspiration ^^ had been dried by the wind of the wings of a swarm 
of bees enamoured of the perfume of the wreaths of half-opened 
Malabar jasmine ^^ in thick tresses dishevelled by weariness of 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' as it were.' 
2 Tel. ed,, * the quivering of amorous women.' 

^ Tel. ed., 'varied love-joys with delights manifold'; Srirangam text, 'wanton 
sport with perturbations manifold.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' mass of darkness.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the voices of knaves.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' sound of the humming.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' stupefied with the intoxication of tasting.' 

* Tel. ed. , * drops fallen unceasingly ' ; Srirangam text, * drops falling unceasingly.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' best beloved.' 

**• Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * when they (the fair women) shone with bud-like 
feet.' 

1^ Tel. ed., 'particles of the mist of perspiration'; Srirangam text, 'particles of 
perspiration.' 

^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' mddhavi^ 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE si 

intense passion in the waning night ; [50] when damsels were 
tunefuP with the jingle of the bracelets on their tremulous, 
slender arms while they illumined their apartments by the light 
of the rays 2 of their milk-white teeth, revealed through their 
sobbing at the pain caused by the loosening of the hair which 
adhered to the fresh ^ nail-marks*; [51] while their attendants, 
wearied with importunities for another glimpse, saw lovers con- 
stantly ; while (the damsels themselves) felt bashful just for an 
instant at the endearing words of the house-parrots who had 
remembered ^ a hundred shameless speeches uttered in the night ^; 
[5iz] when they (the damsels) had the beauty, as it were, of an 
autumnal day with <clouds not adorned by sky>,^ for their <bosoms 
were adorned by the marks of nails> ; when they seemed nigh 
unto death and had their faces set toward the <city of the Lord 
of Life>,^ for their faces were set toward their <lovers' persons) ; 
when they resembled a row of trees in a forest in the spring-tide 
abounding in <sap>, for they abounded in <anxiety> ; when they 
were embraced by their lovers ; when there blew a wind that 
rocked the filaments of the flowers and removed their pollen 
from the hair Sj)'^ of damsels wearing delightsomely tinkling 
jewels, whilst it had an abundance of expanded white lotuses, 
and caused pleasure, and rejoiced in union, and rained down 
a fire of chaff,^ as it were, on lonely ^^ girls lightly deserted by 
their lovers, and surrendered them wholly to the burning arrows 
of love, and carried far [54] the plaint of the Brahminy duck ^^ ; 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * charming.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' rays.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' fresh.' 

* See Schmidt, Beitrdge ztir indischen Erotik, pp. 47S-496, Leipzig, 1902. 

^ Tel. ed., * who made up speeches of love's shamelessness ' ; Srirangam text, * who 
remembered speeches of love's shamelessness.' 

^ The same embarrassing habit of the parrot is mentioned by Amaru (see Bohtlingk, 
Indische Spriiche, 2 ed., No. 2710, St. Petersburg, 1870-1873J. 

" Their beauty was like the dark massed clouds. 

^ A euphemism for Yama, the God of Death. 

^ A fire of chaff being proverbially sudden and intense ; Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 
♦powder of a fire of chaff,' also omitting ' rained down.' 
^° Tel. ed., * lonely, deserted.* 

11 According to the conventions of Sanskrit literature, two indiscreet lovers were 
transformed into Brahminy ducks {Cascara rutila, Pallas) and condemned to pass 



58 VASAVADATTA 

then (Kandarpaketu) saw in a dream ^ a damsel ^ about eighteen 
years of age with her hips girt ^ round with the bond of a girdle* 
which was the gate ^ of the city of delight of her thighs ; which 
was the golden rampart of the great treasure-house of the city 
of joy ^ ; which was a trench for the line of the tendril of down "^ ; 

each night separated by a river, from whose opposite banks they continually call to 
each other. 

1 Cf. Hall, Introd., pp. 30-31, note ; and, for parallels in Sanskrit romances and 
dramas, as well as in The Thousand Nights and One Nighty see Gray, ' Literary 
Studies on the Sanskrit Novel,' in WZKM. 18. 40-41, 50. For a more modem 
parallel, reference may be made to the PanjabI legends of Princess Adhik Anup Dai, 
daughter of Raja Sirkat (a hero of the Raja Rasalu cycle), and of Jalali, the black- 
smith's daughter (Temple, Legends of the Panjdb, i. 233 ; 2. 168-169, Bombay, 1884- 
1900). The same motif is found in early European romances, as in the Artus de la 
Bretagne and Palmerin de Oliva (Dunlop, History of Prose Fiction^ i. 258-259, 380, 
London, 1896). See also, for other instances of dreams toward morning, Harsacarita, 
pp. 136-138, 166, 207, Bombay ed., 1892 (tr. Cowell and Thomas, pp. 105-106, 
132-133, 177, London, 1897); KddavibarT, pp. 135-136, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. 
Ridding, p. 57, London, 1896) ; Brhatkathdsldkasamgraha, 2. 43 (ed. and tr. Lacote, 
Paris, 1908); Natesa Sastri, Dravidian Nights, p. 49, Madras, 1886; Frere, Old 
Deccan Days, 2 ed., pp. 68-69, London, 1870. In India, as elsewhere in the East, 
dreams play an important role in divination, and the wide sphere of Sanskrit oneiro- 
mancy has been admirably discussed by Julius von Negelein i^Der Traumschliissel des 
jfagaddeva, Giessen, 1912), on the basis of a critical edition and translation of Jagad- 
deva's Svapnacintdmani. It seems generally agreed that dreams toward morning 
come true (cf. the texts cited by Hall, loc. cit.). According to the Kaihdsaritsdgara, 
46. 150, ' the slow or speedy fruitage of it [a dream] depends on the difference of 
time [when it is beheld] ; but this dream, being seen at the end of the night, will give 
a speedy fulfilment ' ; and it may be added that the Asura princess Usa, to whom 
Subandhu himself alludes (below, p. 61), first saw her future husband, Aniruddha, 
in a dream {Kaihdsaritsdgara, 31. 11-32, tr. Tawney, i. 276-277, Calcutta, 1880). 

2 This detailed description of the heroine, to which many parallels might be cited in 
Sanskrit literature, becomes of special interest when compared with the well-known 
representations of the female form in Indian art, in which the breasts and hips are of 
exaggerated development, while the waist is correspondingly slender. Vasavadatta is 
to be classed, from Subandhu's description, as a padminT, having, among other cha- 
racteristics, a moon-like face, eyes with reddish corners, dark, heavy hair, a line of 
down on the abdomen, and a slow gait ; a tarum, as being between sixteen and 
thirty, and a devasattvd, as being noble in conduct and wealthy (Schmidt, Beitrdge 
zur indischen Erotik, pp. 220-224, 243-253, Leipzig, 1902). For similar, but far 
briefer, descriptions of Oriental beauties, see, for example, Swynnerton, Romantic 
Tales from the Panjdb, pp. 391-392, London, 1903 ; The Thousand Nights and One 
Night, tr. Pa5Tie, 3. 111-112; 4. 295; 7. 147, 210; 8. 103-104, London, 1882-1884, 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' marked out.' ^ Tel. ed., ' new girdle.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * garland of.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * the golden rampart of the abode of the treasure of 
her thighs, Love's great depository.' 

' Tel. ed., ' zone of the trench for the multiform tendril of down'; Srirangam text 
also adds ' zone.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 59 

which was a halo for the disc of the moon of her hips ; which 
had a golden inscription consisting of a line of down that pro- 
claimed victory over the triple world ^ ; which was the line of 
the moat of the prison of the hearts of all men ; [^^1 and was 
as the bar of the chamber of a flock of birds which were the 
glances of the world. ^ 

(She was) adorned with a waist which seemed full of sorrow 
through failure to see her moon-like face that was hidden by the 
burden of her swelling breasts ; which appeared to be filled with 
weariness from the oppression ^ of the urns of her bosom and the 
circlets of her heavy * hips ; which had apparently conceived a 
deep resentment for her massy buttocks ^ ; [^6] which seemed 
filled with exhaustion from the restraining hand ^ of the Creator 
who had compressed it exceedingly ; and which had become 
extremely slender, as if on account of its anxious thought : ' Sup- 
pose mine own breasts should fall on me like projections from 
a height ' ? 

(She was) beautified by breasts with golden jewels filled with 
gems of passion "^ ; with nipples for seals; apparently nailed with 
iron under the guise of nipples through fear of falling because of 
their vast circumference ; [57] accumulations of loveliness, as it 
were, remaining after the consecration of all her members ; the 
lotuses, so to say, of the pool of the heart ; possessed of the 
beauty of a pillow for the cheek ^ of Love ; the fruit of the tendril 
of the line of down ; caskets full of the dust of the lure that 



1 Tel. ed., ' which had Love's golden inscription with a row of letters that proclaimed 
his victory over the wide triple world ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

2 She attracted and kept captive, like so many birds, the glances of every one. Tel. 
ed., ' as the golden bar of the chamber of the abode of her thighs for birds which were 
the glances of the whole world ' ; Srirangam text, ' as the golden bar of the chamber 
of the abode of birds which were the glances of the whole world.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the confined oppression on both sides from.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' very heavy.' 
^ Because her waist shrank away from them. 

® Srirangam text, * as if with pain produced by the seizure of the hand.' 
' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' golden caskets filled with gems of passion.' 
^ Tel. ed. , 'a box of the unguent of Love ' ; Srirangam text, ' a pillow for the 
disport of Love.' 



6o VASAVADATTA 

increases the pride of passion^ ; heavy with the fall of the hearts 
of all mankind ; the fruits of the mighty tree of existence ; the 
product of the great tree of youth ; two Brahminy ducks, charm- 
ing with necklaces of pearl for lotus-filaments ^ ; [58] fruits of the 
tree of Prayaga, which seemed to stand at the juncture of the 
line of down with her necklace of pearl ^ ; the solitary dwelling * 
of the God of Love when overcome by weariness from the con- 
quest of the triple world. 

(She was) beauteous with a bud-like lower lip which had the 
glow of eventide in close proximity ^ to her moon-like face ; 
which had what seemed to be a minium seal as a guard for the 
jewels of her teeth ; [59] which was coloured, as it were, by the 
flushing redness of her heart ^ ; which was, so to say, a fresh bud ^ 
of the coral-tree from Passion's sea. (She was) adorned by a pair 
of eyes which were longer than a very tender screw-pine blossom ; 
with languidly tremulous glances ; giving rise to a suspicion that 
they were the windows of wanton Love abiding in the inner 
chamber of her heart ; causing beatitude by their very passion ; 
[60] with redness in their corners as if for anger at her ears, 
which hindered their further extension ^ ; seeming to whiten all 
the world ; making the sky seem filled with a forest of expanded 
lotuses ; pouring forth, so to say, thousands of oceans of milk ; 
seeming to surpass the loveliness of a garland of downy Nepal 
jasmine and blue lotus.^ 

(She was) beautified by a nose which was the column ^^ of the 



1 Tel. ed., ' dust of the proud nature of passion ' ; Srirangam text, ' dust that increases 
the pride of passion.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * hidden through their greed of lotus-filaments (which 
were) pearl necklaces.' 

3 Tel. ed., ' the shores of Prayaga in the guise of the junction of the Ganges and 
the Jumna, (which were) her pearl necklace and line of down ' ; similarly the Sri- 
rangam text. 

'' Tel. ed., * the solitary rest-house ' ; Srirangam text, ' the victory rest-house.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'continual close proximity.' 

6 Tel. ed., inward redness.' ' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' a bit.* 

8 The eyes of an Indian beauty are conventionally supposed to extend to her ears. 
® Tel. ed., ^ surpassing a garland of blue lotuses clinging to downy Nepal jasmine- 
flowers.' 
10 Tel. ed., ' trunk.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 6i 

balance for the jewels of her teeth ^ ; [6i] the bridge betwixt the 
oceans of her eyes ^ ; a wall, as it were, between two elephants 
mad with youthful passion. (She was) adorned with delicate 
brows which were clusters of bees about her blue-lotus eyes ^ ; 
portals * of her face that formed the abode of Love ; the shores ^ 
of Passion's sea ; wantoning in youthful dancing. She possessed, 
as it were, the loveliness of the sky in the rainy season [62] with 
<clouds> swelling with beauty, for her <breasts> swelled with 
beauty.^ 

Like one "^ who has gained the cry of Victory she stood on 
the tip of a trembling <balance>,^ for she had trembling <anklets> ; 
she was like Suyodhana's valour while his eyes rested on <Karna>, 
for her eyes extended to her <ears> ; she seemed to have the 
sportiveness of the Dwarfs in exhibiting his <destruction of Bali>,^^ 
for she revealed her <furrowed folds) ; she was like the station of 
the sun in Scorpio <after traversing Virgo and Libra), for she 
<transcended comparison with other damsels) ; [6^1 she rejoiced 
in <unblemished beauty) as Usa rejoiced at the sight of <Anirud- 
dha) ^^ ; she had the <beauty of lovely eyes) as Saci <delighted 
in gazing on Indra's pleasure groves) ; she had, as it were, the 
sportful dancing of Siva with his <quivering serpent), for she had 
beautiful <eyes and ears) ; she had lofty dark <nipples) as a forest ^^ 
has lofty dark <bread-fruit trees) ; [64] she was adorned with a 

1 Compare the Euphnistic passage in Ben Jonson's Cynthia s Revels^ 5.2:* You 
that tell your mistress, her beauty is all composed of theft ; her hair stole from Apollo's 
goldy-locks ; her white and red, lilies and roses stolen out of paradise ; her eyes two 
stars, plucked from the sky ; her nose the gnomon of Love's dial, that tells you how 
the clock of your heart goes ; and for her other parts, as you cannot reckon them, they 
are so many ; so you cannot recount them, they are so manifest.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * the bridge, as it were, betwixt the ambrosial oceans 
of her eyes.' 

^ The bees being extremely fond of the lotus. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, '• garlands of the portals.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * currents.' 

6 Tel. ed, and Srirangam text, ' <clouds swelling with rain> ' and ' cbreasts shining 
with pearl necklaces>.' "^ Tel. ed., < like a king.' 

8 This seems to be introduced merely for the sake of the pun on tuldkoti. 

^ Visnu. 1° Cf. Rdmdyana, i. 29 ; Bhdgavatapurdna, 8. 21-23. 

*^ Cf. Harivamsa, 173-186; Kathdsaritsdgara, 6. 31. 
^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the Vindhya forest.' 



6i VASAVADATTA 

<beautiful throat and with armlets) as the army of monkeys was 
adorned by <Sugriva and AngadaX 

She seemed to be made of planets ^ : of the <Sun>, for she had a 
<shining> ornament ; of the <Moon>, for she had a <beautiful> round 
face ^ ; of <Mars>, for she had a <rosy> bud-like ^ lower lip ; of 
<Mercury>, for she had a <lovely> appearance ; of <Jupiter>, for she 
had <heavy> round hips ; of <Venus>, for she had <wide-open> lotus 
eyes * ; of <Saturn>, for she had <slow-moving> steps ; of <Rahu>, 
for she had <dark> heavy hair.^ 

She was a picture, as it were, on the wall of life ^ ; \ps\ the 
place of assembly, so to say, of the loveliness of the triple world ; 
apparently the perfect elixir for the Great Ascetic"^ in his youth ^; 
seemingly the place of Passion's fancy ; the repository, so it would 
seem, of delight ; [56] the flag of conquest over the threefold 
earth,^ as it were, of the God of the Dolphin Banner ^^ ; evidently 
the manifestation of intellect ^^ ; the conqueror, it would seem, of 
Passion ^^ ; a powder, so to say, to numb the senses ^^ ; a power, 
one would think, to bewilder Love ; apparently the joyous abode 
of beauty ; the sole sanctuary, as it were, of good fortune ^^ ; seem- 
ingly the place where loveliness had its origin ^^ ; [67] wellnigh 
a perfect seduction of the mind ^^ ; almost a blind " of the juggler 

1 A similar thought is expressed by Bhartrhari (Bohtlingk, Indische Spriiche, 2 ed., 
No. 2169, St. Petersburg, 1870-1873). In like fashion a girl is described as made of 
flowers in Harsacarita, p. 38, Bombay ed., 1892 (tr. Covvell and Thomas, p. 263, 
London, 1897). 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' for she had a smile of <white beauty>.' 
2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * bud-like.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text insert, transferring this further down, * of <Venus>, 
for she had a <white> pearl necklace.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit. 

® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * like a picture on the life-wall of the theatre of the 
triple world.' ' Siva. ^ Tel. ed., ' the perfect elixir of youth.' 

® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' over the threefold earth.' 

1° Kama. 11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit. 

^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the battle-ground, as it were, of Love.' 

^2 Tel. ed., ' the confusion, so to say, of all the senses.' 

^* Tel. ed,, 'good fortune's birth-hall, as it were, of friends' disport.' 

^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * rendezvous.' 

1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * wellnigh a perfect spell for the winning of love' 
(Srirangam text, *mind'). 

^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' almost a mighty drug to bind the eyes.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 6'>, 

Love ; a production of the Creator, so to say, for the enchantment 
of the triple world. 

Then, while he drank her in, as it were, with eyes dilated with 
joy, sleep, which he had long served, became jealous ^ and de- 
serted him. [68] But when he awoke, he was unable to sustain 
himself, being drowned, so to speak, in a sea of poison, and as if 
submerged in the words of his enemies. Thus then, for an instant, 
he embraced the sky, and with outstretched arms ^ cried to his 
beloved, as if she were painted in the heavens,^ graven on his 
eye, and carven on his heart : ' O, dearest one, come ! come ! 
where dost thou go ' * ? Then in that very place he passed the 
day on his bed, with his eyes closed,^ with all his attendants 
barred out, with the doors shut, [69] and refusing all enjoyment 
of food,^ betel, and the like. Thus, too,'^ he spent the night as 
well with longings for the coming of the dream. 

Then his confidential friend, named Makaranda, somehow 
gained entrance ^ and thus addressed Kandarpaketu, who was 
overwhelmed with the wounds of the arrows of Love : ' My friend, 
[70] why dost thou take to this unwonted course, which is unbe- 
coming to a man of honour ? When they behold this conduct 
of thine, the good are swayed by perplexity, while the wicked, on 
the other hand, make it out to be undesirable and indecorous ^ ; 
for the heart of the evil man finds its highest delight centred in 
bringing to light what is undesirable. Who, pray, can discern 
the true character of such an one ? 

* Thus, even though a <Bhima>, he is «no foe of Baka»,^^ for he 

^ In like manner life becomes jealous of Mahasveta because of her love for Pundarika 
in the KddambarT, p. 325, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, p. 128, London, 1896). 

2 Tel. ed., * stretching out his arms for an instant to the sky to embrace it ' ; 
Srirangam text, ' blindly stretching out his arms to the sky to embrace it.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * in the heavens and its subdivisions.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * O, dearest one, go not ! go not '! 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' clinging to his couch.' 

6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' food.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * somehow or other.' 

* Tel. ed, and Srirangam text, ' gained entrance and a sight (of Kandarpaketu).' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * pursue thy (Srirangam text, ' this ') indecorous and 
undesirable course.' 
1° See Mahdbharata, i. 159-166. 



64 VASAVADATTA 

is <homble> and a «:foe of them that praise him» ; though a <fire>, 
he is a «wind», for he is a <devourer of his own place of refuge> 
and a «dog in his mother» ^ ; [71] though very <pungent>, he is of 
«fine flavour», for he is very <cruel> and «utterly insipid» ; he 
does not abandon his <bitterness>, though ^flattered by clasped 
hands and prostration at his feet»,^even as mustard-oil abandons 
not its <sharpness>, though <Scaressed with both hands and held 
to the head» ; he is <delightful on account of his freedom from 
faults) (at first), but afterwards is unpleasant and <Scruel» even as 
the fruit of the palmyra-palm tastes <pleasant at first>, but is dis- 
agreeable and «sharp» at the last ; he, when <deserted>, wrinkles 
his brow even as the dust of the feet, when <shaken off>, discolours 
the head. 

* He <confirms his folly> in proportion as he is «humoured» 
even as the fruit of the poison-tree <strengthens madness) in pro- 
portion as it is «honoured» ; [y2,] he has no lack of <enemies> 
with his «bad conducts even as there is no dearth of <water> in 
«low ground»^; he brings distress to the <good> with his «great 
jealousy^ even as a summer day brings distress to the <flowers> 
with its «s warms of gnats»; he is cunning in binding <sins> 
together and eager to «destroy the works of all men» even as the 
darkness is cunning in binding <night> together and eager for 
«:sunset». 

[73] 'Though <Siva>, he is «Visnu», for he is a <prince> of 
^unseemly conduct»* ; he is <deaf> and «praises not his subjects» 
even as Indra's horse <cried aloud> and «exulted in his birth from 
the ocean» ; he agitates the heart of a good man, even though he 
is <disturbed> and shows «affection» , like as the churning-stick 
agitates the heart of the cream, even though it is <separated> and 

1 A false etymological pun on Matarisvan, an obscure Vedic deity (on whom see 
Macdonell, Vedzc Mythology, pp. 71-72, Strassburg, 1897; Hillebrandt, Vedische 
Mythologie, 2. 149-153, Breslau, 1899 ; and the authorities there cited). The name 
probably means 'having water as his mother' (Fay, /^ (96". 16. clxxii-clxxiii), or, less 
plausibly, 'materiae puer' (Fay, KZ. 45. 1 34-^.^5)- 

2 Literally, 'sustained by the head (of his suppliant).' ^ -pel. ed., *he has no 
lack of <enemies> even as a dearth of <water> is not produced by a river in low ground.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'he has <unseemly conduct) even as Rudra has 
<abnormal eyes) ; he is <deceitful) even as Visnu <holds a disc).' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 65 

shows «butter»^ ; [74] he is noisy with <self-praise> and «garru- 
lous of his wanderings in the worlds even as an offering to the 
Yaksas is noisy with <crows> and «bears evidence of wandering 
dogs»2 ; his visage is distorted from <entire lack of self-control) 
and his «generosity» is suppressed even as a must elephant^ 
fixes his distorted visage on <his female) and suppresses his 
«ichor» ; he is <not alarmed by fear of God) even as a bull is 
<wearied from union with the cow). 

* He is <miserable through his disgrace of his family) and is 
devoted to «evil ways»* even as a paramour is <distressed by an 
error in his name) and is devoted to the <Sway of the fair» ; [75] 
he causes slowness in <softly modulated and excellent) speech 
even as the disease of indigestion^ causes slowness in <body) 
(and) speech ; he is devoted to the <breaking of agreements) and 
a friend of the «foes of his lord:^ even as a jackal is devoted to 
the <flesh of a corpse) and delights in the «night»; [yS] <the 
sight of him causes distress to his kindred) even as a corpse is 
<deprived of the use of its eyes) ; he destroys <good fortune) even 
as the axe cuts the <sandal-wood) ; he <destroys his family) and 
cuts down «men gifted with patience)^ even as the spade <cleaves 
the earth) and cuts down the «:creatures that share in the soil»^; 
[77] he engages in <low actions) even as a dog engaged in 
<venereal acts) makes good folk ashamed ; he, for all his <charms 
of hair and face), has no pleasure in his <Slute, skilful though 
he is2> like as a must elephant <delights in the forest), yet has 
no pleasure in the «spreading greensward, even though he 
traverses it»J 

1 Tel. ed., not expressing ' of a good man,' has 'shows continually.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' he <wanders about the world) even as an offering to 
the Yaksas has <flocks of crows>,' etc. 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' as an elephant.' 

* If vdmddhvan be synonymous with vdmdcdra, this may be an allusion to the 
infamous ' left hand ' Tantra-worship (Hopkins, Religions of Ijidia, pp. 490-492, 
Boston, 1895). 

5 See Jolly, Medicin, p. 77, Strassburg, 1901. 

* Trees, according to the commentator Sivarama. 

' Tel. ed., ' he has no pleasure in his <goodly youth>' {yavasam + san = samvayasam) ; 
Srirangam text, * he rejoices not in <his companions of equal age) even as the elephant 
<continnally> rejoices not, ..." {yavasam -^ sa^ savayasam). 

F 



66 VASAVADATTA 

[78] * The shoots of evil vices are bom without seed and grow 
without a stock, and hard they are to uproot ; if a particle of 
iniquity enters into the heart of the wicked, it is a terrible thing. 
But into the heart of the good it enters not ; and if at any time 
it does enter, [79] it is like quicksilver, unstable for an instant ; 
the virtuous, even as deer, are obedient to the voice of one ^ who 
knows their pleasure ; persons like thee easily capture the heart 
of a friend ^ as do the wagtails of the autumn-tide ; and the wise ^ 
give no unseemly counsel, while the friendship of the foolish is 
thrown on the side of profit. [80] And likewise,* when milk, 
fancying ^ that " water is as milk because of its sweetness, cool- 
ness, purity, and healing of distress," enters into friendship (with 
water), destruction is wrought by water itself, when it reflects 
that " ruin has come in times gone by through the decoction of 
me myself, increased by union with that (milk)." ^ This conduct 
is, therefore, extraordinary ; follow the course, my friend,''' which 
is customary among the upright; [81] the noble themselves go 
utterly astray by mistaking their direction.' ^ 

When he (Makaranda) had said this,^ and more to the same 
effect, Kandarpaketu, dominated by the wounds of many ^^ arrows 

1 Tel. ed., * take refuge with one ' ; Srirangam text, ' the virtuous are not, like deer, 
obedient to a petty pleasure.' 

2 Tel. ed., 'persons like thee take away pleasure, as do the wagtails'; Srirangam 
text, ' persons like thee obtain the weal of a host of friends.' 

^ Tel. ed., ' the friendly-minded.' ^ Tel. ed. omits 'and likewise.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' from the identity of sound.' 
" Tel. ed., ' by water, thinking that " ruin has come upon me aforetime in the 
decoction of milk, which had gained increase from union with myself" ' ; similarly 
the Srirangam text. The close union of mingled water and milk becomes, in Sanskrit 
literature, a type of the truest and most altruistic friendship (cf. Bohtlingk, Indischt 
Sprilche, 2 ed., Nos. 2024, 2026, St. Petersburg, 1870-1873). The passage may, perhaps, 
be partially elucidated by a stanza from Bhartrhari {ib. No. 2026), thus rendered by 
Tawney {Two Centuries of Bhartrihari, pp. 30-31, Calcutta, 1877): 
' Milk to the water with it mixed its native virtues gave, 
"Which, pitying sore its tortured friend, rushed on a flaming grave ; 
The milk, unwilling to be left, must share its fellow's fate, — 
True friendship envy cannot reach, nor fiery pains abate ' ! 
■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' my friend.' 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the good, though going astray by mistaking their 
direction, again regain the right path.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' his dear friend, Makaranda, having said,' etc. 
1" Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' many.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 67 

of Love, somehow said slowly : ' Good friend, my mind ^ is con- 
fused by a <hundred afflictions) as Diti was confused by <Indra>.2 
This is no time for advice ; my limbs seem to be on fire ; [82] 
my faculties are boiling, so to speak ; my vitals feel as if burst- 
ing ^ ; my breath is almost leaving me ; my senses are wellnigh 
eradicated ; and my memory is destroyed.* Now, therefore, if 
thou didst share the sorrows and joys of our playing together in 
the dust,^ then follow me.' So speaking he went forth from the 
city with him, unnoticed by his retinue. 

Straightway, after going a distance of several hundred 7ialvas} 
a great mountain,^ called Vindhya, was seen with its thousand 
peaks bowed down to earth,^ restrained by Agastya's word ^ ; 
[83] with its sides ^^ thronged with hundreds of savages eager to 
slaughter hundreds of female yaks who had been delighted by 
hearing the songs of pairs of Vidyadharas (then) slumbering peace- 
fully ^^ in the bowers within its caves ; with its rocky sides cooled 
by breezes bearing the perfume of trickling yellow sandal-wood ^^ 
broken and dragged down by the trunks of the elephants on its 
ridges ^^ ; [84] with the monkeys ^* eager to lick their paws wet 
with the sap of the palmyra-palm fruit which had been broken 
by its exceedingly long fall ; with its borders fragrant with the 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the mind of folk like us.' 

2 Cf. Rdnidyana, i. 46. ^ Tel. ed. omits this clause. 
* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * is, as it were, destroyed.' 

^ Alluding to their childhood days as playmates. Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 
* Now this is enough of this talk. If thou didst share the joys and sorrows of our 
laying in the dust, then let it be come together with me.' 

« A naha is equivalent to 400 cubits. Tel. ed., 'then, having gone with him 
a journey measured by several hundred nalvas ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * great.' With this description of the Vindhya 
Cartellieri ('Subandhu and Bana,' in WZKM. i. 132) compares that given by the 
KddambarT, pp. 38-43, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 16-18, London, 1896). 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' to the chasms of the earth.* 

^ Cf. Mahdbhdrata, 3. 103-104. 

10 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * with its sloping sides thronged with hosts of savages 
eager to slaughter herds of female yaks.' 

^1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'peacefully,' the latter having ' awakened from 
sleep.' 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'sandal-wood sap.' 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * elephants come to its sloping ridges.* 

^* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' with hosts of monkeys.' 

F % 



68 VASAVADATTA 

perfume of the juice of various fruits sipped again and again ^ by- 
pairs of chickores dwelling near its overhanging cascades ; [85] 
seeming to sustain a host of stars clinging to its summit since its 
peak was speckled by pearls ^ fallen from the temples of must 
elephants which had been cloven by the edges of the sharp claws 
of thousands of bold lions. 

The shadow of its foot was haunted by <bears, gayals, griffins, 
lions, and lotuses> as Sugriva [86] had the shadow of his feet 
honoured by <Rksa,^ Gavaya, Sarabha, Kesari, and Kumuda> * : 
its <peace was disturbed by the exhalations of elephants) as the 
Lord of Cattle ^ has his <ashes disturbed by the hissing of his 
serpent>; it had a <chaplet of beautiful forests) as Janardana^ 
wears <beautiful sylvan garlands) ; it had ^dita-h^xV and syandana- 
trees) as the God of a Thousand Rays '^ has a <chariot with seven 
steeds) ; [87] it was <full of caverns and infested with jackals) as 
Siva had <Kartikeya near him and was attended by Parvati) ; it 
was full of <jungles and wastes and was covered with white thorn- 
apples) as a paramour is filled with <petulance and passion for 
his mistress and is amorous) ; it had < Arabian jasmine-plants and 
Arjuna-txQQs> as Sriparvata has the <Mallikdrjuna> near it ; [88] 
it had <Italian panic and bind-weed) as Naravahanadatta was the 
<husband of Priyangusyama) ^ ; it <formed a place for emblic 
myrobalan-trees) as a child is <held by its nurse) ; it had a series 
of forests ^ rosy with the <reddish lustre of ruddle) ^^ as the dawn 
of day makes the series of forests^ rosy with the <radiance of 
the mountain-born Aruna) ; it was impenetrable on account of 
<many creeping plants) as the dark lunar fortnight is impene- 



^ Tel. ed. omits * again and again.' 
2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' massy pearls.' 
^ Jambavat, the king of the bears. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' <Kumuda and Panasa> . . . <lotuses and jack-trees>.* 
B ^iva. 

^ Visnti. Tel. ed., * it had a <chaplet of magnificent forests>, as Janardana wears 
<full-blown sylvan garlands).' 
■^ Surya. 

^ See Lacote, Essai sur Gunddhya et la Brhatkatkd, pp. 213, 228, Paris, 1908. 
° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * leafy forests.' 
'^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' <ruddle> . . . <mountain-born>.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 69 

trable on account of its <blackness> ; it had gifts of a <hundred 
crores> as Kama had the gift of <Indra's boIt>; [89] it was 
covered with <tail feathers moulted by peacocks> as Bhisma was 
covered ^ with <crescent-headed arrows) ; it was filled with <ele- 
phants and was fragrant from the perfume of its jungles) as the 
Kdmasutra was written by <Mallanaga and contains the delight 
and enjoyment of mistresses); it was a refuge for the race of 
<deer) as Hiranyakasipu was a refuge for the race of <Sambara).2 

Because of the guise of its ruddle it seemed to have been 
employed by Aruna to trace the path of the chariot of the 
sun ^ ; [90] it watched, as it were, the journey of Agastya with 
eyes dilated because the sun and moon had come upon its 
summit ; on account of the old sloughs of snakes it seemed to 
have a mass of entrails hanging out * ; as Kumbhakarna had 
a host of monkeys come within his <teeth)/ it had a host of 
monkeys come upon its <summiD; [91] it had bowers of screw- 
pines for the rendezvous of the assembled nymphs of Saci's Lord 
who marked their pathway with a series of footprints dyed with 
red henna. 

Though of <no family), it was adorned by a «noble ancestry», 
for it did <not cling to the ground) and it was ^adorned with 
beautiful bamboos^ ; though it was <evidently safe), it yielded 
the «fruit of death», for it had <^^r«-nut trees) and yielded 
4Cplantains» ; though <measured), it was «measureless», for it 
had <plateaus) and was ^immeasurable^ ; \^%\ though <noisy>, 
it was «silent», for it had a <river) and was «still»; though 
a <Bhima), it was a friend of <SKicaka)>, for it was <terrible) and 
a friend of «reeds2> ; though it hid its <garments), it had brilliant 
«raiment», for it hid the <sky) and had brilliant «sunbeams». 

[93] It showed, moreover,^ a <malady of many of its com- 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' had his body covered.' Cf. Hopkins, 'Position of 
the Ruling Caste in Ancient India,' in JAOS. 13. 278. 

2 Cf. Visnupurdna, i. 19; 5. 27. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the sun on high.* 

* Tel. ed., * tubular entrails hanging out of chasms cleft by thunderbolts' ; similarly 
the Srirangam text. 

^ Cf. Rdmdyanay 6. 6^. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * like a sick man.' 



70 VASAVADATTA 

ponents> as if by a «great abdominal swelling»,^ for it indicated 
a <change of many metals> by its «thick bushes^ ; as a good 
man shows his <greatness> by «habits of mercy», it showed its 
<loftiness> by the ^course of the planets on its summits. 

As the Mimamsa and Nyaya philosophies conceal the views 
of the <Digambara Jains>, it concealed the view of the <quarters 
of heaven and of the sky>. It also had its vicinage adorned with 
pools which were delightful on account of the appearance of the 
<blue lotus>,^ as the Harivamsa is delightful on account of the 
appearance of <Puskara> ; [94] that were thronged with <pairs of 
fishes and with crabs> as the Zodiac has <Pisces, Gemini, and 
Cancer> ^ ; and that had hosts of <birds, elephants, galangal, 
and young medlar-trees> as the parts of the day have the host of 
<Sakuni, Naga, Bhadra, and ValavaX* It also showed manifold 
<metrical> charms with <^usumavicitrds^ vamsapatrapatitas, suku- 
mdralalitds, puspitdgrds^ Hkharinls^ praharsims, and latds'^^ 
since it showed manifold charms <produced> through its <Screepers, 
lovely on account of their flowers, which had fallen on the 
bamboo leaves, tender in their grace, tipped with blossoms, 
crested, and charming^. 

[95] As if by a very dear mistress with outstretched wavy 
arms, it was embraced, furthermore, by the Reva, whose waters 
were perfumed by the abundance of the drops of liquid which had 
fallen from the fragments ^ of fullblown lotuses shaken by many 
monstrous tails of bkdhkuta-fish. '^ that had been terrified by the 
notes, indistinct for passion, of geese and herons ; whose waters 

^ See Jolly, Medicin, pp. 79-80, Strassburg, 1901. 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' <the blue lotus and the bedda-nut tree>, as the 
Harivamiais delightful on account of the appearance of<Visnu>.' 

5 Tel. ed and Srirangam text, * thronged with pairs of <fishes, dolphins, and crabs), 
as the Zodiac has <Pisces, Capricorn, Cancer, and Gemini>.' 

* See Ginzel, Handbuck der mathematischen und technischen Chronologie^ i. 359- 
361, Leipzig, 1906. 

^ See Weber, Ueber die Metrik der Inder, pp. 380, 394, 366, 361-362, 393, 384, 
Berlin, 1863 ; Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays^ 2. 144, London, 1873. Srirangam 
text, like Hall's manuscript D and the commentator, adds * like the Chandoviciti^ 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * fallen from masses of lotuses.* 

' Tel. ed., * by monstrous jaws of ulkuta-fish. ' ; similarly the Srirangam text, though 
the latter has * bAaMta-hsh: 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 71 

had been drunk up by the circling navels of beauties of Pulinda 
kings at their evening ablutions ^ ; [96] whose banks resounded 
with the din of flamingoes noisy with passion ^ ; whose waters 
were curdled with drops of the streams of ichor exuded from the 
temple lobes of must elephants near its banks ^ ; with the gardens 
on its shores witnesses to the triturition of the tremulous sport of 
pairs of young deities delightfully ensconced on the sand formed 
by the abundant dust fallen from the forests of screw-pines that 
grew along its banks ; [97] in whose waters dove the nymphs 
who dwelt in bowers within bits of rose-apple that had fallen 
near the forests ^ on its banks ; whose environs ^ were lauded by 
pairs of divinities drawn by curiosity at the sound of the sweet, 
low notes of the many gallinules that nestled in the creepers of 
chair-bottom cane growing on its shores ^ ; [98] whose banks 
were strident with the screams'^ of multitudes of wild cocks 
whose nests thronged the bowers of reeds ^ that had sprung up 
near its shores ; whose soft banks were trodden by the water 
nymphs ^ ; whose tremulous ^^ waves were rippled by the breezes 
from the gardens ; [99] whose demi-carp were watched by female 
herons ^^ which had entered the numerous bowers of reeds ; whose 
reed-forests ^^ were terrible from supporting paddy birds eager 
for the shoals of small fish ; the water near whose bank was 
coloured by the shoals of exceedingly quick rdjilas fleeing from 



1 Tel. ed., ' concealed in the circles of the deep navels of beauties of Pulinda kings 
bathing at eventide' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

2 This clause is omitted by Tel. ed. 

3 Tel. ed., ' abundance of drops . . . falling from the rounded frontal lobes of the 
huge must elephants standing near its banks ' ; Srirangam text, ' must elephants standing 
near the river-banks.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' lotuses fallen in the cavities on its banks.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' delightsomeness.' 

« Tel. ed., * sound of the abundant amorous sport of the gallinules that nestled in the 
forests of chair-bottom cane.' 
' Srirangam text, ' made by.' 

8 Tel. ed., ' screams of wild cocks thronging the bowers of masses of reeds.' 

9 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' whose very soft sands were trodden by water nymphs 
eager to enjoy the sunshine.' 

10 Tel. ed., * very tremulous.' 

11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' evil female herons.' 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * the tendrils of whose reed-forests.' 



72 VASAVADATTA 

the sight of the uddandapdlas who moved within the circles of its 
rippling ^ waves ; [loo] whose shores ^ were dug up by hundreds ^ 
of barbarians whose greed for getting treasure had been aroused 
by the sight of the mating of pairs of wagtails. 

[loi] As if angry, it displayed a <distortion of its face>, for it 
displayed an <outlet and waves); drunk, so to say, it had a 
<t ottering gait>, for it had a <winding current) ; it was the beauty 
of the dawn, as it were, that gives <time> increase, for it gave its 
<shores> increase ; it was like unto the place of combat of the 
Bharatas with <quivering corpses), for it had <dancing waters) ; it 
was, one might fancy, the rainy season with <peacocks appearing 
but serpents hidden), for its <pools were hid by expanded 
lotuses) ; [loa] it seemed to be one who courts a <king) out of 
desire for gain,* for it courted the <mountain). And also — 

Even to-day it seems to call on him ^ 
Who from a jar was born, while on its heights 
Loud scream the elephants, with temples rent 
By tawny lions' fearsome claws and keen. 

Then said Makaranda : 

[103] ' Behold this lion with his sinewy frame, 
Now rising high behind and now before^; 
His curving tail along his arched back. 
His cavernous mouth, and white-tipped fangs agleam ; 
Yea, and his ears erect,"^ the while he springs 
Upon the lordly king of elephants.^ 

'And furthermore — 

' His ears erect,^ in sudden onslaught skilled, 
His mane astart, and jaws all hideous,^^ 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * uneven shores.' ^ 7^1^ gd. omits ' hundreds.' 

* Tel. ed., * it seemed an amorous woman <courting a king>.' 

' Agastya; cf. Rdmdyana, 7- 57* 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text interchange the order of the epithets. 

■^ Tel. ed., * neck erect.' 

" The literal translation of this stanza is given above, Introduction, p. 26. 

8 Srirangam text, ' neck erect.' 1° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' cavernous.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 73 

His stiffened tail high-waving in the breeze — 
No artist could portray this awful beast 
[104] What time he croucheth on the mighty brow 
Of some great elephant, shrill trumpeting 
Adown the lonely dells of Vindhya's mount.' 

Meanwhile, in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree ^ that seemed 
a paramour conspicuous on account of <aphrodisiacs>, since it was 
conspicuous on account of its <.mainas>^ he (Kandarpaketu) rested, 
after having gone a few steps ^ along the Vindhya forest which 
abounded in <banyans> as a river in a low region abounds in 
<underbrush> ; [105] which had <great reeds everywhere) as the 
battlefield* of the capture of Uttara's kine had <Brhannala 
appear); which produced an abundance of <camphor> as the 
entrance of a drum in a dry land produces an abundance of 
<water from the clouds)^; which had <sap inherent in many 
trees) as the nectarous converse of the wise has its <savour drunk 
by many a knave); which continually held <plantain trees) as 
Nalakubara's desire was to hold <Rambha) continually; [106] 
which had its paths indicated by <ghantdravd-i^\dSi\.^> as the 
course of a must elephant has his path indicated by the <sound 
of his bells) ; which had <quickly growing kadambas> as the 
worship of the Holy Lord ^ has <many fruits growing near by) ; 
which gave joy to hundreds of <reeds) as the wealth of Virata 
gave joy to hundreds of <Kicakas>." 

[107] Meanwhile, to the peak of the western mount climbed 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * in the shade under a rose-apple tree.' 
3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add, ' like Vikartana, who <loved Chaya>, for it had 
<delightful shade) ; like Visnu, who possessed <Laksmi>, for it possessed <beauty> ; as 
a king bent on invasion is adorned with <thronging vehicles), it was adorned with 
<close-set leaves) ; as the Veda is bedecked with many (schools), it was bedecked with 
many (branches) ; as a group of courtesans has <the love of many paramours) ; it was 
(bright with many buds).' 

3 Tel. ed., 'a journey of some length ' ; Srirangam text, ' a journey of some steps.' 
* Tel. ed., 'as the land of the capture'; cf. Mahabhaj-ata, 4. 36-69. 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' as the drum in the Kuru land brought a host of full 
mighty men ' (i. e.,the Kauravas and Pandavas). The allusion seems to be to a rain charm. 

6 ^iva. Tel. ed., * as the worship of the Holy Lord has (many fruits gone forth 
from afar), it had (lofty-growing kadambas'y^ 

"^ Cf. Mahabharata, 4. 14-22. 



74 VASAVADATTA 

that very god whose garment is of rays, with his disc red as the 
eyes of a must buffalo ^ exhausted by heat. Then Makaranda, 
getting fruits and roots, brought an abundance ^ of pleasing food 
in some way or other, and himself ate the remainder of what had 
been enjoyed by Kandarpaketu. Thereupon, placing that most 
dear one on the tablet of his heart, looking on her as if limned 
by a pencil,^ [io8] Kandarpaketu, with unshaken resolution, 
slept on a couch of boughs prepared by Makaranda. Then, 
when but half a watch of the night* had elapsed, Kandarpaketu 
heard there, on the tip of the rose-apple tree, the chatter of 
a parrot and a maina^ quarrelling one with the other, and he 
said to Makaranda : * Good friend, let us now listen to the chit- 
chat of this pair ' ! 

[109] Then the maina ^ said, in a voice tremulous with anger : 
' Wretch ! you have gone off courting some other maina ! How 
else have you passed this night ' ? Hearing this,"^ the parrot said 
to her : ' My dear, an unprecedented story has been heard and 
witnessed by me ^ ; for this reason there has been a loss of time.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * forest elephant.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' abundance.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' looking on that most dear one as if limned by the 
pencil of fancy on the tablet of his heart.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * when but a watch of the night had elapsed,' also 
omitting * there.' 

5 The association of the parrot and maina (here called iarika) is a common- 
place in both the ancient and the modern literature of India. In this association they 
convey weighty information in Swynnerton, Rdjd Rasdht.^ pp. 105, 11 5-1 17, Calcutta, 
1884 (where the maina is called "idraU)', Knowles, Folk-Tales of Kashmir^ 2 ed., 
pp. 65-66, London, 1893 (where it is termed /^ar) ; Schiefner, Tibetan Tales ^ tr. Ralston, 
pp. 168-169, London, 1906; Steel and Temple, Wide- Awake Stories ^^. 139, Bombay 
1884; Ram Satya Mukharji, /w^/a;/ Folklore, p. 60, Calcutta, 1904 (where the maina 
is called sdri^. On talking birds in general in modern Indian folk-tales cf. Knowles, 
op. cii.y pp. 168-169, 198, 231,434; Steel and Temple, op. cit., pp. 176, 412 ; Temple, 
Legends of the Pattjdb, i. 9-10, Bombay, 1884 > ^^.y. Folk- Tales of Bengal, -p^^. 41-42, 
. 1 34-1 35 > London, 1883 ; Frere, OldDeccan Days, 2 ed., pp. 74-75, London, 1870 ; Dra- 
coti,Simla Village Tales, p. 62, London, 1906 ; Natesa Sastri, Dravidian Nights, p. 275, 
Madras, 1886; O'Connor, Folk- Tales from Tibet, pp. 160, 166, London, 1906. On 
the basis of the belief see MacCulloch, Childhood of Fiction, pp. 38, 247, London, 1905. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * a maina in the rose-apple bower, in a voice tremulous 
with anger, said to a parrot that had come after a long time.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text insert ' then.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * dismiss your wrath ! An unprecedented great story 
has been witnessed by me.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 75 

Then, being urged ^ by the mainUy whose curiosity had been 
aroused, he began to recount the tale. 

[no] * There is a city named Kusumapura,^ adorned with 
whitewashed houses ^ that have <statues> as the introductions * to 
the Brhatkathd have <heroines> ^ ; where <children play> even as 
the <mdnavakakridas> ^ have metres ; that have <turrets> as herds 
of elephants have <must beasts> ; that have <windows> as Sugriva's 
army had <Gavaksa>; that are situated in <pleasant places) as 
Bali's abodes are situated in the <Sutala-hell> ; [m] that is filled 
with a population which is <Kubera> yet «Varuna:», for it is 
<generous> and «wise» ; which is a <goatherd> yet a «:deer», for 
it <holds fast to passion) and is «delightful» "^ ; which is <Priyam- 
vada) yet «Fuspaketu», for it <speaks kindly) and is «bedecked 
with flowers» ; which is <Bharata) yet «SatrughnaS>, for it 
<delights in astronomy) and ^slays its foes»^; [112] which 
<makes the lunar day its highest object) yet 4:gives no heed to 
the lunar day», for it is <devoted to lovers) and «gives full heed 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' repeatedly pressed.' 

2 With this description of Kusumapura Cartellieri (' Subandhu and Bana,' in WZKM, 
I. 132) compares that of Ujjayini in Kdda7?ibarT, pp. 102-11 1, Bombay ed., 1890 
(tr. Ridding, pp. 210-214, London, 1896). Kusumapura is, of course, synonymous 
with Pataliputra, the Palibothra of the classics, and. the modem Patna (cf. Lassen, 
Indische Alterthumskunde, i, 2 ed., 167-169, Leipzig, 1867 ; Hall, Introd., pp. 35-36 ; 
M'Crindle, Ancient India as described in Classical Literature^ p. 42, n. 3, West- 
minster, 1901). 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * radiant with houses <white with auspicious white- 
wash> as the peaks of Mount Mandara are <delightsome with renowned ambrosia).* 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' sections.' Lacote {Essai sur Gunddkya et la 
Brhatkathd, pp. 220-225, Paris, 1908), adopting the lambhdir or lambhakdir of 
Hall's manuscripts D and F and the commentator Jagaddhara, translates * conquests,' 
thus bringing the allusion of Subandhu into harmony with the divisions of the 
Kathdsaritsdgara and Brhatkathdmanjart (for other interpretations see Speyer, * Het 
zoogenaamde groote verhaal (de Brhatkatha) en de tijd zijner samenstelling,' in 
Verslagen en mededeelingen der Koninklijk Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afdeeling 

Letterkunde, 4. 9. 142 ; Von Mankowski, Der Auszug aus dent Pancatantra in 
Kshemendras Brihatkathdmanjart, Introd., p. 10, Leipzig, 1892). 

5 Lacote {loc. cit.) very plausibly translates idlabhanjikd by '■ vidyddharis' (cf. 
Jagaddhara's gloss ad loc, sdlabhanjikd vidyddhart, * sdlabhanjikd (is the same as) 
vidyddhart*). 

* See Weber, Ueber die Metrik derlnder, p. 367, Berlin, 1863. 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' which is <Krsna> yet «Rama», for it is <eloquent> 
and «delightful».' 

' Srirangam text, *yet «Laksmana» . . . and «prosperous».' 



76 VASAVADATTA 

to hospitality» ; which is <unnumbered> yet «numbered», for 
it is <peaceable> and «learned»; which is <no arrow> yet an 
«arrow», for it <discloses secrets> and is «valiant» ; which is <not 
degraded) yet is addicted to many «liquors», for it is <free from 
repentance) and addicted to many «sacrifices» ; which is (Visnu's) 
<disc> yet «no disc», for it is <beautiful> and ^without guiles ; 
which <exudes no ichor> yet is «Supratika»/ for it <has no 
egotism) and is «goodly in figure» ; [113] which is <no bird) yet 
is a «flamingo», for it is like <Visnu's bird) and <gpure» ; which 
shows no <diminution of oil) yet is a «household lamp», for it 
shows no <ill consequences of affection) and «illumines its race» ; 
which has no <knots) yet is a «bamboo-shoot», for it has no 
<deceit) and is a «scion of its race» ; which increases its <lustre 
by justice) as a summer's day increases its <glow by Taurus); 
which begins <asceticism) as the day at the end of Magha begins 
<Phalguna)^; [114] which <has no planets) yet knows <KVenus 
and Jupiter^, for it is <free from theft) and knows «:the essence 
of poetry». 

* It is supplied with a population of courtesans who show the 
<marks of tooth-bites) as a day of the rainy season ^ shows 
<broken clouds); who are adorned with <pravdlamani-h\tQS> 
as the seashore is adorned with <coral and jewels)*; who are 
<expert in practising the indrdm>^ as the host of Apsarasas 
are <cunning from their association with Indra's wife) ; who have 
their appetites whetted by their <paramours) as a wild elephant ® 
has his appetite whetted by the <young boughs); [115] who are 
bred up <for strangers) as the koel is bred up <by another) ; who 

1 The world-elephant of the northeast quarter, 

2 Magha is the name of a lunar month corresponding to the latter part of January 
and the first part of February, and is followed by Phalguna. Tel. ed. and Srirangam 

. text add, * which goes in the path of the <good> as the wind goes in the path of the 
<planets> ; which is the lord of <earth> as the sun is the lord of <rays> ; which has <gold> 
as the Great Lord (Siva) has the <moon>.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * as the autumn.' 

* Tel, ed. and Srirangam text, ' who are adorned with <hair> as the seashore is 
adorned with <coral>.' See Schmidt, Beitrdge zur indischen Erotik^ pp. 502-503, 
Leipzig, 1902. 

5 See Schmidt, op. cit. pp. 530-531, 564, 570. 
® Tel. ed, and Srirangam text, ' lordly elephant.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 77 

are rocked <by Kama> as a bee is rocked <among the flowers) ; 
who are skilled in drawing <paramours> as a leech is skilled in 
drawing <blood> ; who are bent on <coition> as a sacrificial priest ^ 
is bent on <divinity> ; who have <gay paramours) as the arm of 
the Great Dancer ^ has the <quivering serpent) ; who <inflame the 
hearts of their gallants) as Garuda <causes anguish to the hearts 
of serpents) ; [116] who are <superior to (other) courtesans) as the 
demon ^ Andha was <impaled on the trident). 

* There, too, dwells the revered Katyayani herself, called 
Vetala,* whose lotus feet are caressed by the garlands on the 
crests of gods and demons; [117] who is the forest fire of 
the great woods ^ of Sumbha and Nisumbha ^ ; who is the 
adamantine cliff of the mountain of the great demon "^ Mahisa ; 
whose lotus feet are bathed by the river ^ of Jahnu's daughter 
falling from the matted locks ^ of Him ^^ who holds the Ganges 
subdued by love.^^ 

* And in its environs flows the blessed Ganges, with a stream 
of fragrance from the lines of pollen of the flowers of the diadems 
of gods and demons ^^ ; [118] with a current of the tide of virtue ^^ 
from the ascetic's water-jar of the Great Father ^^; a pure rope^^ 
for Sagara's hundreds ^^ of sons, come^^ to earth, to ascend to the 
city of the gods ^^ ; with its waters perfumed by the dripping of 
the yellow sandal- wood trees ^^ on the bank, (trees) shaken by being 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' as one who continually performs sacrifices.* 

^ aiva. Tel. ed., * who are <tight in the embrace of their lovers) as the forest of the 

arms of the Great Dancer has <the marks of the serpent he holds>.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * demon.' For the allusion cf. Harivam'sa^ 

143-144. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'Canda.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' of the might of the great demons ' ; cf. Mdrkan- 
deyapurdna, 72-73. ^ Cf. Mdrkandeyapurdna, 85-90. 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * of the excellent mountain of the demon.' 

^ Ganges. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * from the pinnacle of the matted locks.' 
1° ^iva. ^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' subdued by the strife of love.' 

^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * pollen of diadem-flowers fallen in the bathing of 
gods and demons.' 
1^ Srirangam text, ' proceeding from.' ^* Brahma. 

^5 Srirangam text, 'a pure rope-ladder.' ^^ Tel. ed. omits 'hundreds.* 

1'^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'fallen.' ^^ Cf. Mahdbhdrata, 3. 106-109. 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * perfumed by the sap dripping from.' 



78 VASAVADATTA 

rubbed by the frontal lobes ^ of Airavata ; with its waves in com- 
motion from their beating by the round hips of wanton Apsa- 
rasas ; with its current pure because of the perfume of the forest 
of matted locks of the Seven Sages ^ come down to bathe ; wind- 
ing because of the very purification produced by its revolutions 
in the terrible cave of the matted locks ^ of Him * whose crest is 
the moon. 

* As the earth is capable of the delight of touching the <trunk 
of Sarvabhauma>, it is capable of the delight of touching the 
<hands of universal sovereigns) ; as a pool in the autumn-tide has 
<white lotuses and (other varieties of) white lotuses) submerged ^ 
by the water but revealed by swarms of bees hovering about and 
intoxicated with ^ the perfume, so it has <Kumuda and Punda- 
rika> ; [119] as the Chandoviciti has the <mdlim (metre)) '^ it has 
the <Malinl (river)) ^ ; though it has its darkness destroyed, it is 
<full of darkness), for it has the <Tamasa) ; though it has ^ billows, 
it is <not difficult to cross on account of its billows), for it is 
<impassable for the Avici-hell). 

' This city is also adorned in one place and another with trees 
of pleasure gardens that produce ^^ flowers multitudinous as the 
hosts of stars ; [120] that prop up the clouds with shoots ^^ made 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * cheek.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' forest of pnre matted locks of the circle of the 
Seven Sages.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * winding even now as if in the purification produced 
by its revolution in the cave of the terrible matted locks.' 

* ^iva. ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' deeply submerged.' 
6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' and intoxicated with.' 

"^ See Weber, Ueber die Metrik der Inder, p. 391, Berlin, 1863. South Indian 
manuscripts give the name Chandoviciti to the sixteenth book of the Bharattya- 
ndtyaiastra (ed. Regnaud, * La Metrique de Bharata,' in Annales du Music Guimet, 
2, Paris, 1881), and Krishnamachariar (Introd., pp. 35-36) likewise discards the old 
hypothesis that the C/iandoviciti mentioned by Subandhu was the one written by Dandin, 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' as the series of planets is adorned with <Satum, 
the moon, and the sun>, it has the <Yamuna and flamingoes> ; as the beauty of an 
autumnal day has <the sound of yawning Brahminy ducks and Visnu awakened), it has 
<blazing red lotuses and the eyes of expanded white lotuses>.' 

9 Tel. ed., ' is full of.' 

1° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text insert ' a multitude of flowers, as it were, of the 
santdnaka-ixee clinging to its pinnacles,' the santdnaka being one of the five trees of 
Indra's heaven. 

" Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'tips of shoots.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 79 

uneven by the feeding of the horses of the chariot of the sun 
which are obedient when lashed by the whip in the hands ^ of 
Anuru ; that show the beauty of an untimely evening by thou- 
sands of thick, soft, young shoots ^ produced by sprinkling with 
quantities of drops of ambrosia adhering to the feet of the gazelle 
in the moon ; that are <refuges of joy most excellent> as Bharata's 
conduct was <ever a refuge to Rama>; that sustain <cocoanut 
palms> as great heroes sustain the <wanton sport of women> ; that 
extend wide the <3edda-nut trees> as raw youths let their <eyes> 
stray wide ^ ; that have <lofty * iron-wood trees> as lions bent on 
cleaving the frontal lobes of must^ elephants have <bristling 
manes> ; that, though they have <omens of approaching death>, 
are «:long-lived», for they indeed have <soap-berry trees> and 
«j^-trees»^ ; [121] it (the city) is filled with <many temples) as 
the belly of Aditi is filled with <hosts of many gods> ; it is 
adorned with <great offerings) and abounds in «gallants» as Hell 
is adorned by <great Bali> and abounds in «serpents» ; it is pure 
even through its <drinking haunts>, because of its <temples> ; it is 
free from calamities even through its <serpents>, because of its 
<wealthy> inhabitants. Where also ^ dwells a king named Srhga- 
rasekhara, whose staff-like arms are marked with the impress ^ of 
the jewelled earrings of sleeping women exhausted by much^ 
passion ; whose lotus hands are fragrant with the perfume of 
the garlands of flowers in the hair of the goddess of fortune of 
his mighty adversaries ; [122] who makes <the affairs of others 
prosper in many ways> like a far-famed field which yields <great 
store of grainX He cleaves the <might (of the foe), is pure, rules 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * hands.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' flower-shoots.' 

3 Tel. ed., ' have their faculties of politeness far away.' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text 
insert here, * that are devoted to the <China rose> as ascetics are devoted to <muttered 
prayers>; that are adorned with <purging cassias) as those ornamented are adorned 
with <made garlands>.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' blooming.' 
s Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' must.' 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' though <provided with ascetics>, they are «dominated 
by passion», for they are <filled with muni-y and <(imadana-MTees,* 
"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' there.' ^ Tel. ed., ' edges.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * vehemence.' 



So VASAVADATTA 

justly, is free from envy and full of forethought, continually active, 
a giver of wealth, and a cause of happiness), being <Indra, Agni, 
Yama, Nirrti, Varuna,Vayu, Kubera, and Siva>; thus, though he 
has <eight forms>, he has «:not eight forms», for he indeed has <eight 
qualities)' and his «form is indestructible^; as Arjuna had <Su- 
bhadra> and «Bhlmasena)^, he has <good fortune) and a ^terrible 
arrny^ ; as ^ Krsna had <Satyabhama) together with «:Bala)^, he 
has <truth, glory, and fortune) together with an «army». 

[123] *One^ doth <protect the gods), yet <drinketh wine); 
The other * hath a pure and single heart : 
One^ had a <planet^ for his council-lord). 
And still <was taken in iniquity) ^ ; 
The other * loveth righteousness alone : 
The hand of one ^ doth wield the <thunderbolt). 
Yet lusteth after wealth <ten millionfold) ; 
The other* giveth all, and by his side 
Great Indra's self doth seem but worthless grass! 

[124] 'In battle dread our king* doth draw his bow, 
Launching his arrows at the hostile host ; 
Yea, dealeth doom unto his enemies 
And winneth glory on the blood-dyed field. 
On haste the foe, deeming his valour fled, 
But swift their headless corpses strew the ground ; 
And ere our monarch stands amidst the fray, 
Death doth abide within the foemen's ranks. "^ 
[125] * While this king, skilled in kingly conduct^ the conductor 
of the world with its girdle of four seas,^ rules the earth, there is 
loosing of a <bull) in sacrifice ^ to ancestors (but there is no loos- 
ing of <law)) ; there is ascent of <Virgo and Libra) by the moon 

1 The eight duties of the king are receiving, giving, sending, stopping, pronouncing, 
overseeing, condemning, and acquitting. 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text transfer these characterisations to the previous sentence. 

3 Indra. ■* Srngarasekhara. ^ Brhaspati (Jupiter). 
" That is, in adultery with Ahalya, the wife of Brhaspati. 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * Unto their doom the foemen's ranks have passed.' 
8 Tel, ed. and Srirangam text, ' girdle of the four oceans.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * sacrifices.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 8i 

(but there is no ascent of the <balance by girls>) ^ ; there is thought 
of <sula and vydghdtd> in yogas ^ (but there is no thought of 
<striking with the impaling stake)) ; there is cessation of <ichor> 
on elephants' cheeks (but there is no cessation of <generosity>) ^ ; 
there is <employment> of the right and left hands in indicating 
direction * (but there is no <amputation> of right and left hands) ; 
there is a <separation of cream) in the case of curds (but there is 
no <piercing with arrows)) ; [126] there is a <series of connexions) 
in sound-composition (but there is no <binding in fetters)) ; there 
are <similes and paraleipses) among the adornments of poetry ^ 
(but there is no <reproach because of carelessness)) ; there is a<fall- 
ing off of bits of targets) of arrows (but there is no <cessation in 
the joy of giving lacs)) ; there is <entire destruction of kvips> ^ (but 
there is no <destruction of all birds)) ; there is <closing of buds) in 
lotus-pools (but there is no <shrinkage of treasure) '^) ; there is <loss 
of caste) among rascals, but there is no <lack of Malabar jasmines) 
in garlands of flowers ^ ; there is cessation of <ichor> in aged ele- 
phants, but there is no cessation of <passion) among men ; [127] 
there is <silver) in bracelets ^ and the like, but there is no <bad 
caste connexion) among fair women ; there is <interruption of the 
gdndhdra mode) in the musical scale, but there is no <surrender of 
minium) among ladies in the city^^ ; there is <absence of roughness) 

1 That is, it is not necessary for any maiden to undergo the ordeal by balance (cf. 
Jolly, Recht und Sitte, p. 145, Strassburg, 1896). 

2 'Die Zeit, welche die Summe der Bewegung in Lange von Sonne und Mond 
beansprucht, um den Betrag der Ausdehnung eines Mondhauses, d. i. 13° 20', zu 
erreichen, heisst ein yoga ' (Ginzel, Hatidbuch der mathematischen und technischen 
Chronologic, i. 361, Leipzig, 1906). The yogas silla (106° 40''-! 20° o') and vydghdta 
(160° 0^-173° 200 correspond to the ninth and thirteenth lunar mansions respectively 
{ib. p. 362). Tel. ed., ' in parturitions there is thought of being struck with pangs ' ; 
Srirangam text, ' yoga-exercises.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'indications of direction.' 

5 Tel. ed. omits ' of poetry.' 

6 On the grammatical term kvip see Pdnini, 3. 2. 61, 76, 87, 177. 
■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' among the people.' 

^ Tel. ed., * there is <lack of Malabar jasmines) in garlands, but there is no <loss of 
caste> in a wicked family ' ; Srirangam text, ' in families.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' earrings.' 

10 That is, none become widows. Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' there is know- 
ledge of <intonation> in songs, but there is no knowledge of <fainting> among the people. 

G 



82, VASAVADATTA 

among attendants of low rank, but there is no <lack of raiment) 
among retainers ^ ; there are <dark clouds) in the nights, but there 
are no <dirty robes) among men ; [128] there are <quaver notes) in 
songs, but there are no <fickle affections) among gallants ; there are 
<outpourings of manly vigour) in tremulous delightsomeness, but 
there is no <desertion of justice) among citizens ; there are <breaks) 
in changing musical modes, but there is no <crookedness) in 
thoughts ; there is lack of <limb) in the God of Love, but there 
is no lack of <allegiance) in a retainer ; there is an approach of 
<Love) at the appearance of youth, but there is no approach of 
<Death) among subjects ; there are <wounds by the teeth) in 
amorous delights, but there is no <slaughter of birds) among the 
people ; there is a <binding of the girdle) in love's disports, but 
there is no <tying of the tongue) in assent to generosity; [1^9] 
there is <redness of the lower lip) among young girls, but there 
is no <base inclination) among subjects ; there is <cutting) in the 
case of hair, but there is no <spinning) ^ among women ; there is 
<swordship) of ^ swords, but there is no <cruelty) of men ^ ; <death 
by the sword) is ordained of warriors,^ but there is no doss of 
taxes or children).^ 

' And set above all the harem is the chief queen,^ named Anan- 
gavati, who has a <host of delighted attendants) as the ichorous 
streak on the cheek ^ of the world-elephant has a <swarm of de- 
lighted bees) ; [130] who is <tender) like Parvati <with the beautiful 
Kumara).^ And in some way, by Heaven's will, there was born 

^ Tel. ed., * there is lack of <toil> among attendants of low rank, but there is no lack 
of <silk> in undergarments.' 

^ Cf. Quintus Curtius, 5. 2. 19 ' Non aliud magis in contumeliam Persarum feminae 
accipiunt quam admouere lanae manus.' Even the modern weaver castes of India rank 
only as ' clean ^udras' (Bhattacharya, Hindu Castes and Sects, pp. 227-236, Calcutta, 
J 896). 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' in.' ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * in minds.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' in battles.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' among subjects.* 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * of that king thus constituted.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * on the cheek.' 

- Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' who is <tender> and adorned with a «golden 
diadem» as Parvati has the <beautiful Kumara> and is adorned with a «digit of the 
moon» ; who is lovely with <fresh garlands) and has «her face adorned with a sectarial 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 83 

to them, after they had reached middle age, a daughter named 
Vasavadatta, with a form enchanting the triple world ; <giving 
joy to the eyes of thousands) as Puloman's daughter <delighted 
the God of a Thousand EyesX^ Now, even though she has 
reached maturity, she, who <rejoices her family) as Ravana's arm 
<made the mountains quake), has remained averse to marriage in 
her youth.2 

[131] ' But once upon a time^ came Spring, that causes fever 
in travellers * through the soft, low sound of the swarms of bees 
that settle on the masses of buds of the opening mango-trees ; 
that carries to every quarter the noise of the koels, whose throats 
are fragrant from tasting the perfume of the flowers of the mango 
shaken by the gentle Malaya breeze ; that makes all ^ the lake 
resound with the din of the kalahainsas, intoxicated and clinging 
to the clusters of expanded lotuses ; [132] that wounds the 
hearts of the wives of absentees with the arrows of the southern 
breeze,® come into contact with quantities of falling drops of 
showers of sap '^ passing out through holes in the stems ^ of buds 



mark» as a stretch of forest is lovely with <new Arabian jasmines> and has «groves of 
ushoka-irtt%'» ; who has <beautiful hair> and a «sweet voice» as the host of Apsarasas 
has <SukeSi> and «Manjughosa».' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * with an <exquisite form) as the slopes of Mount 
Mera have <beautiful gold> ; with <glistening pupils> as an autumn night has <glittering 
stars) ; beautified with a <row of perfect teeth> as an assembly of good men has a <group 
of faultless Brahmans> ; adorned with <garlanded, lovely tresses) as the good fortune of 
the Raksasa race was adorned with <Malyavan and Sukesa).' The deity in question is 
Indra. 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' now, even though she has reached maturity, she 
has remained averse to marriage in her youth, which <rejoices her family) as the forest 
of Ravana's arms <made the mountains quake) ; which is adorned with <love) as Mount 
Vindhya is adorned with <madana-iTtt's> ; which has innate doveliness) as the ocean 
has innate <salinity) ; which is beautified with <excellent adornments) as Indra's pleasure 
grove is adorned <continually with the kalpa-txto (Srirangam text, ' which is delighted 
with <youths of excellent adornment) as Indra's pleasure grove is delighted <continually 
with the kalpa-ix&ey^) ; which is <charming) as the wind <carries off flowers).' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then once upon a time.' 

^ Because the humming of the bees recalls to them the homes that they have been 
obliged to leave and fills them with the fever of love-longing. 

5 Tel. ed. omits 'all.' 

® Tel. ed., 'by warding off love in the southern breeze, which has its origin in 
quantities of drops ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

' Srirangam text, ' sweet sap.' ® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' stems.' 

Q2, 



84 VASAVADATTA 

of trumpet-flowers cloven by the tips of the claws ^ of koels ; 
that makes medlar-trees horripilate from sprinkling ^ with rum in 
mouthfuls ^ by amorous girls merry with wine ; that has 
hundreds of ushoka-treQS delighted by the slow * stroke of the 
tremulous lotus feet, beautiful with anklets, of wanton damsels 
enslaved by amorous delights ^ ; that has countless hundreds ^ 
of travellers bewildered '^ with listening to festal songs ^ begun by 
knaves eager to hear songs full of obscenity sung everywhere ^ ; 
[133] that has <red lotuses) as a rascal is <unpleasant to the 
good> ; that has no <Malabar jasmine creepers) as one of low 
birth has no <origin> ; that is honoured with hundreds of <yel- 
lowish-red dhak'\XQQs> as Ravana was honoured by hundreds 
of <demons that had drunk of blood) ; that has <sweet breezes) as 
a great lady-killer has <perfumes) ; that has <thriving blue lotuses) 
as a good king makes the <circle of earth prosper); [134] that 
has <full-grown cucumbers) as a realist ^^ increases hope of weal); 
that has <overcome winter) as the poetic composition of good 
poets <possesses tu, hi, and na> ^^ ; that is <freed from continuous 
night) as a good man has <no connexion with the bad) ; that <has 
blue lotuses, azure lotuses, and sal-\.reQS> as a fisherman <catches 
rdjlva-y utpala-, and i^/<a;-fish) ^^ ; that dislikes^^ the <cranes of Maru) 

I Tel. ed., 'hard beaks' ; Srirangam text, ' hard nails and beaks.' 
3 Tel. ed., ' attention.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' from the lotus mouths,' According to the con- 
ventions of Sanskrit literature, the medlar {Mimusops Elengi^ Willd.) blooms only when 
sprinkled with mouthfuls of wine from the lips of beautiful girls. In like manner, the 
Mshoka {Jonesia asocd) blossoms only when touched by a fair girl's foot. 

* Tel. ed. omits ' slow.' " Tel. ed., ' ardour.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' hundreds.' 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' delighting in.' 

8 Srirangam text, ' beat of festal songs.' 

® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' sung daily by buffoons full of obscenity.' The 
allusion is, of course, to the Holi-festival, held in early spring (see Crooke, Popular 
Religion and Folk- Lore of Northern India, 2. 313-322, Westminster, 1896). 
1° Srirangam text, ' as a city man.' 

II Tel. ed., ' that has no <winter> attached as the poetry of good poets has no <J:u, hi, 
and na-> attached ' ; Srirangam text, ' that has <no fall of winter attached) as the poetry 
of good poets has <no particles tu and hi attached).' 

12 Tel. ed., 'that has <multitudes of blue and azure lotuses) as a fisherman <catches 
nets of rdjiva- and w/^a/a-fish).' 
*5 Tel. ed., 'displeases.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE Ss 

as flocks of birds ^ in a beautiful tank dislike ^ the <basil>; 
[135] that has the beauty of the <zndrdm-pla.nt> as Sakra 
delights in <Indfani> ^ ; that <surpasses the wormwood-tree> as 
a great hero ^ <subdues his foes> ; that has the <beauty of globe- 
amaranths) as a knave has <unimpaired good fortune). 

[136] 'When spring-tide is far advanced on earth, who is not 
transformed,^ since even an <emancipated ascetic beamed), for 
the <mango with its creeper bloomed)? Like a <feather-guard) ^ 
the swarm of bees shone as a <protection), nestling on the arrow- 
shaft of the fresh mango -buds "^ of Him whose arrows are flowers. 
Upon the Arabian jasmine-bud ^ that had come forth from its 
stem the sweetly^ humming bee [137] seemed to sound the 
trumpet-call for Kama's march ^^ to victory over the threefold 
world. By its fresh shoots the nskoka, because of its longing to 
be touched by a maiden's ankleted foot,^^ red with the dye of new 
lac, seemed to have assumed that colour.^^ The medlar-tree 
shone as if, through sprinklings^ with mouthfuls from amorous 
girls' lotus lips completely ^^ filled with sweet wine, it had assumed 
its (the wine's) colour ^^ in its own flowers. The ^j^^^y^^-cluster, 
dotted by multitudes of bees that had fallen within it, inflamed 
the hearts ^^ of travellers like the circlet of the half-extinguished 
pyre of the Mind-Born God. [138] Like a necklace of pearls 
and sapphireSjS"^ the beauty of the spring-tide was radiant with 
rows of blossoming Arabian jasmines and goodly swarms of bees. 



* Tel. ed. omits 'of birds.' 2 7^1. gd., 'displease.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * that is <radiant with the indrdm-planty as Sakra is 
<delightful to Indrani>.' 

* Tel. ed. , ' as one of great wisdom.' 

^ Tel. ed., ' who would not be transformed' ? 

* Tel. ed., ' like the written series of the letters of a name,' without attempt at 
paronomasia ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

' Tel. ed., 'flowers.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' in the hollow of the expanded Arabian jasmines.' 
^ Tel. ed. omits ' sweetly.' ^^ Tel. ed. omits ' march.' 

11 Tel. ed., 'a maiden's foot charming with the tinkling of an exquisite anklet.' 

^2 Tel. ed., 'that very colour.' 

13 Tel. ed., 'contact.' 1* Tel. ed. omits 'completely.' 

15 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'perfume.' ^^ Tel. ed., 'minds.' 

1' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' like a necklace with pearls and sapphires.' 



86 VASAVADATTA 

The flower of the iron-wood tree was lovely as the wheel ^ of the 
God of Flowery Arrows for agitating the hearts of absentees. 
The trumpet-flower seemed to be the hook of the God of the 
Flowery Bow to catch the fish which are the hearts of the 
travellers.^ 

[139] *The breeze of Malaya blew with odours of great 
sweetness from the perfumes commingled by being crushed 
by the braids on the sloping foreheads ^ of Lata damsels, eager 
for abundance * of amorous play ; bearing the fragrance of the 
perfume of saflron-dust on the urn-like bosoms ^ of fair Karnatic 
beauties, versed in all amorous arts; making the sky re-echo 
with the sound of the very sweet ^ humming of swarms of bees, 
collected because of the fragrance inherent in the splendour"^ 
of the hair of beautiful, artfully expert damsels of Kuntala ^ ; 
skilful in gathering perfumes for marks on lovely cheeks of 
Kerala girls, tremulous with the passion of young adolescence ^ ; 
[140] cunning ^^ to touch the round buttocks of large-buttocked 
Malava ingenues^'^ versed in all the four-and-sixty arts ; cooled 
by ^2 abundant drops of perspiration from the burden of the firm 
and swelling breasts of Andhra dames, overcome by amorous 
exhaustion.^^ 

1 Tel. ed., * round whetstone ' ; Srirangam text, * round whetstone for the arrows.' 

2 Cf. the quatrain of Bhartrhari (Bohtlingk, Indische Spriiche, 2 ed., No. 6237^ 
St. Petersburg, 1870-1873) thus translated by Jackson (in Cosfnopolitan Magazine^ 
26. 276): 

' Angling in life's river. Men — those silly fishes — 

Cupid drops his line ; Quick dart up above ; 

On the hook he fastens Out he pulls and fries them 

Some fair maiden fine. In the fire of love.' 

3 Tel. ed,, ' perfume of flowers (Srirangam text, ' association of the perfiime of 
medlar-flowers ') in the massy braids of hair dishevelled on the sloping brows.' 

* Tel. ed. omits ' abundance.' 

^ Tel. ed., ' masses of saffron-dust on the pairs of fair, urn-like bosoms.' 

* Tel. ed. omits * very sweet.' '^ Srirangam text, ' swaying.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * on account of the delightful fragrance inherent in the 
tresses of western beauties filled with love-longing.' 

* Tel. ed., 'lifted up by young adolescence.' "^^ Tel. ed., 'fortunate.' 
^1 Tel. ed., 'talkative Malava damsels.' ^^ Tel. ed., 'cool from.' 

^^ On the erotic characteristics of women from the several districts of India see 
Schmidt, Beitrdgi zur indischen Erotik, pp. 315-338, Leipzig, 1902, and for the 'four- 
and-sixty arts ' see ib. pp. 136-146. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 87 

' Meanwhile, being informed by Vasavadatta's maids of honour 
of her intention [not to wed],^ Srngarasekhara brought together, 
for his daughter's self-choice,^ an assembly of the kings ^ that 
possess the entire earth. Then Vasavadatta "* ascended a dais 
noisy ^ with the loud murmur of swarms of bees drunken with 
the fragrance of the perfume^ of burning aloes ; [141] that was 
whitened by the radiance of the lustre of most vehement laughter"^ ; 
that was thronged with a multitude of suitors skilled in many 
stories of ridicule of their rivals ; [142] that was thronged with 
swarms of bees from the pleasure groves of the city, attracted 
by the fragrance of the burning incense ^ ; that made the air 
re-echo with <delightful music) as Arjuna's battle made the 
air re-echo with <Nandighosa>.^ 

' And there stood ^^ princes : some <conquered courtesans) as 
Kalahkura <had the adornments of his city conquered by the 
bird)^^ ; [143] others were <blind, swart, and without teachers) as 
the Pandavas were <associated with Krsna, Draupadi, and their 
teachers) ; others had <hopes of joy) ^^ exceeding ^^ full blown as 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'his daughter's intention.' 

2 On the ' self-choice ' {svayamvard) of a husband, a special privilege of the warrior 
caste, see Schmidt, op. cit. pp. 649-654 ; Jolly, Recht und Sitte, pp. 50-51, Strassburg, 
1896; Post, Grundriss der ethnologlschen Jurisprudenz, i. 18-19, Oldenburg, 1894- 
1895 ; Schiefner, Tibetan Tales, tr. Ralston, pp. 282-284, London, 1906 ; Budhasvamin, 
Brhatkathdsldkasamgraha, c^.2>o-gi', 20. 93-121 (ed. Lacote, Paris, 1908); and, in 
modem folk-tales, Knowles, Folk-Tales of Kashmir, 2 ed., p. 494, London, 1893 ; Steel 
and Temple, Wide-Awake Stories, p. 430 (references to further literature), Bombay, 
1884; Natesa Sastri, Dravidian Nights, pp. 29-31, 61-67, 143, Madras, 1886; 
Swynnerton, Indian Nights' Entertainment, pp. 160-161, 171, 289, London, 1892. 
The svayamvara also forms one of the main motifs of the entire KddambarJ. 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' princes.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the exquisitely hipped Vasavadatta.' 
5 Tel. ed., ' whose atmosphere resounded.' ^ Tel. ed., ' perfume of the smoke. ' 

' Tel. ed., ' perfumed by the fragrance of the abundance of most vehement laughter.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' fragrance of the burning perfume materials of 
bdellium and the like.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add 'with gifts of <parched grain) as a monarch's 
audience-hall has gifts of <kings> ; beautified with a <canopy> as a hermit's abode is 
beautified with <sacrifices> ; adorned with <flowers> as Indra's heaven is adorned with 
<gods>.' ^° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' there, for an instant, stood.' 

11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' some <knew courtesans) as Kalankura <seized the 
adornments of the city>.' The bird in question is Garuda. 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' of joy.' 

13 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'exceeding.' 



88 VASAVADATTA 

autumn days have <cucumbers> ^ exceeding ^ full blown ; others 
desired the <very beautiful girl> as men eager to repel a foe^ 
desire <their own army>; [144] some listened to <Holi-songs> 
as fowlers listen for <birds> ; some were intent on the pursuit 
of <(mere) appearance) as hunters are intent on the pursuit of 
<wild beasts> ; some destroyed the doctrines of <conventionality> 
as adherents of the teachings of Jaimini destroy the doctrines of 
the <Buddhists> ; some showed (only) the <returns of the year> 
as wagtails reveal <gain for astrologers) ; some uttered <rather 
doleful cries) as the borders of Sumeru are <made of gold); 
[145] some were <dazzled at the sight of glorious folk) as pools 
of expanded * white lotuses are <closed at the sight of the sun) ; 
[146] some trusted in the delusion ^ produced by the sight of the 
<beauty of the universe) as Duryodhana trusted in the delusion ^ 
produced by the sight of <Krsna> ; some, though <haughty within 
themselves through the consciousness of their elephants), had 
goodly «steeds», for they were indeed <powerful in their know- 
ledge of self-defence) and had goodly «arms»; some, though 
desiring to <seize the hands (of their foes)), thought «to give 
life», for indeed, desiring <to wed (Vasavadatta)), they thought 
«of a thing not easy to do»; [147] some, though <subdued), 
were «stalwart», for they were indeed <dejected) and «motion- 
less» ; some had their <peace) taken away on account of their 
ignorance of the mysteries of their «senses» as the Pandava princes 
had their <lands) taken away on account of their ignorance of 
the mysteries of the «dice»; some were <Gunadhyas), authors 
of <iBrhatkathds^^ for they were <rich in hunting-nets) (and) 
authors of ^great stories:^ ^ ; others were <winds) with ^weet 
breezes», for <they went in crooked ways) (and) «bore perfumes»'^; 



1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' quarters of the sky.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' exceeding.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' eager for attack.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' expanded.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * marvels of the delusion.' 

* Tel. ed., ' some followed after <great stories> as Gunadhyas follow after <Brhat- 
katkds'i ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' others bore <perfumes> as winds bear <sweet breezes).' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 89 

[148] some manifested hopes on account of <crows> as the troops 
of the Kurus manifested hopes on account of <Drona>^; some 
were unable to bear the <g]ory of heroes) as white lotus groups 
are unable to bear the <rays of the sun>. And ^ having regarded 
them one by one, [149] the princess retired from the dais with 
loveless heart. 

' Then in a dream ^ that very night she saw a youth adorned 
with an <armlet> as Vali was adorned by <Angada> ; <with pearls 
about his neck> as the koel <has a sweet note> ; skilful in attracting 
the <fair> as the golden gazelle was skilful in attracting <Rama> ; 
[150] rejoicing <the ears of his elders> by his nectarous words as 
Jayanta rejoiced <Indra>; <to whom gave he not joy> as Krsna 
<gave no joy to Kamsa>? ; with <swift-moving hands) as a great 
cloud has <glittering hail> * ; the elemental root of the tree of 
beauty^; the hill of ascent for the jewel of passion^; the 
mountain of origin of streams of delightful stories "^ ; the spring- 
tide month of the mango of dexterity ; the mirror of the face 
of nobility^; [i5i] the elemental seed of the tendrils of know- 
ledge ; the chosen spouse of glory ^ ; the rival house to LaksmT 
and Sarasvati ^^ ; the original abode of proficiency in virtue ; the 



1 Tel. ed., • some showed <a knowledge of crows> as the troops of the Kurns showed 
<the teaching of Drona>.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' and immediately.' 

2 Tel. ed. omits * in a dream.' For instances in modern folk-tales of the heroine 
falling in love with the hero from a dream see Frere, Old Deccan Days, 2 ed., p. 119, 
London, 1870; Temple, Legends of the Panjdb, 2. 278-279; 3. 370-371, Bombay, 
1884-1900; Swynnerton, Indian Nights' Entertainment, pp. 248-251, London, 1892 
(where, as in the Vdsavadattd, both the hero and the heroine dream of each other). 

* Tel. ed. adds * with <great truthfulness and glory> as the ocean has <great beasts 
and the (Vadava) fire> ; composed, as it were, of pure rivers — his hair the <Malim>, for 
it was <garlanded> ; his nose the <Tungabhadra>, for it was <aquiline and gracefub ; his 
lip the <$ona>, for it was <red> ; his voice the <Narmada>, for it <gave pleasure> ; his arm 
the <Goda>, for it <gave the earth>; and his fame the <Ganges>, for it <sustained the 
heavens>.' So also the Srirangam text, except for the omission of * <with great truth- 
fulness> ' and ' <great beasts>.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' love.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' for the multitude of jewels of all the qualities.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'streams of stories of delightsome love.' 

^ Tel. ed., ' the mirror of beauty.' 

9 Tel. ed., * Sarasvati.' 
1^ Tel. ed., * glory and Laksml.' 



90 VASAVADATTA 

treasury, as it were, of great loveliness ^ ; with a form seductive ^ 
in the threefold world. And he is named Kandarpaketu, the 
son of a king named Cintamani. And even in sleep she heard 
his name and the like.^ 

* Straightway (she thought) : " O Prajapati ! This I consider 
perfection in the creation of beauty ! [15^^] He has been formed 
by the Lote-Born God,* who, with his mind eager to behold the 
loveliness of his own skill ,^ took the atoms of beauty inherent 
in the threefold world ^ ! Otherwise, how is there possibly such 
perfect grace in him ? In vain did Damayanti endure the hard- 
ship of dwelling in the forest"^ for Nala's sake. [153] Uselessly 
did Indumati, even though a queen, become enamoured of Aja.^ 
Fruitlessly Sakuntala suffered the curse of Durvasas for Dus- 
manta's sake. To no purpose Madanamanjari loved Naravahana- 
datta.^ [154] Iri vain was Rambha, whose thighs surpassed the 
plantain,^^ enamoured of Nalakubara. Fruitlessly did Dhumorna 
long for Yama among the thousands of Gandharvas, Ganas, and 
many gods ^^ who came to her self-choice." ^^ 

[155] 'Thus meditating in many ways, as if she had ascended 
the midst of the fire of separation, as if she were swallowed up 
by the flame of the Vadava fire,^^ as if she were devoured by the 
awful fire of the flame of the Last Day,^* as if she had entered 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangatn text, ' the treasury of the wealth of great loveliness.' 
2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' delightful/ 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * even in sleep she heard his name and the like, that 
" he is Kandarpaketu, the son of a king named Cintamani." ' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * formed by the Creator.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' with his mind eager to behold his skill all at once.' 
^ Tel. ed., 'beauty of the totality of the threefold world.' 
■^ Tel. ed., ' endure hardship in the forest.' 

^ See Raghuvamia, 6. 8. ^ This legend is apparently now lost. 

"^^ See Rdmdyana 7. 26. Tel. ed., *who surpassed the plantain on the slopes of 
Mount Meru by the massiness of her thighs.' 

11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * among the hosts of gods.' The allusion is apparently 
based on Rig-Veda 10. 10. 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' vainly Rddhi found Kubera among the Gan- 
dharvas and Yaksas. Fruitlessly the mind of Puloman's daughter clave to the Lord of 
the Gods (Indra).' 

^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * flame of the fire of love.' 

1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, '■ as if seized by the fire of Spring, as if devoured by 
the awful flame of the southern breeze.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 91 

into the caverns of hell ^ ; thinking of Kandarpaketu as if he 
were carven on her heart, which was emptied of all its faculties,^ 
as if he were engraved there, inlaid, riveted, swallowed up, joined 
by strongest cement,^ entered into the frame of her bones, within 
her vitals, flecked with her marrow's pith, enveloped in her breath, 
placed in her inmost soul, [156] liquefied in her sheltering* blood, 
distributed through her flesh ; as if mad,^ as if deaf, as if dumb, 
as if listless, as if abandoning all her faculties, as if swooning, as 
if blasted by a planet, as if surrounded by a series of the billows * 
of the sea of youth, as if enveloped by the bonds of love, as if 
pierced by Kama's flowery arrows, as if reeling from the venom 
of the thought of love,"^ as if shaken ^ by the arrows of the con- 
templation of beauty, as if bereft of life by the winds of Malaya 
(she exclaimed) : " Dear friend Anangalekha, put thy lotus hand 
upon my heart ! The pain of separation is hard to bear ! Foolish 
Madanamanjarl, [157] sprinkle sandal water ^ ! Simple Vasanta- 
sena, bind my heavy hair ! Fickle Tarangavati, scatter the 
screw-pines' pollen ^^ ! Gauche Madanamalini, fan me with bits 
of sdivala ^^ ! Trivial Citralekha,^^ trace in a picture ^^ the thief of 
my thoughts ! Noble ^* Vilasavatl, scatter an abundance of pearl- 
dust ^^ ! Passionate Ragalekha, cover my bosom with a quantity 
of lotus leaves ! Dear ^^ Kantimati, gently ^^ wipe away my tear- 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * into the house of the hell of madness.' 

2 Tel. ed., ' as if emptied of all her faculties ; thinking of Kandarpaketu as if he 
were carven on her heart.' 

2 Tel. ed., ' adamant.' * Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' sheltering.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' as if blind.' 

® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' rolling billows.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' from the poisonous fluid of the thought of love.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * pierced.' 

® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' sprinkle my limbs with sandal water ' ! 

^° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * scatter the screw-pines' pollen on my limbs ' ! 

^1 Tel. ed., ' with a bunch of sdivala ' ; Srirangam text, ' make a bracelet with a bunch 
of sdivala ' ! 

12 Tel. ed., * Citrarekha.' 

13 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * on a tablet.' 
1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' beautiful.' 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' on my limbs.' 
1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' most dear.' 
1"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' very gently.' 



9'i VASAVADATTA 

drops ^ ! [158] Come, good Sleep ! Be kind to me ! Alas ! 
what is the use of my remaining faculties ? Only too truly my 
other members were not made an eye by the Creator ! Lord 
of the Flowery Weapons, this the supplication to thee : ' Attend 
thou upon a man of such a sort'^! [159] Breeze of Malaya, 
that teacheth to behold the woe ^ of love, blow as thou wilt ; my 
life is gone " ! Thus speaking in phrases manifold, she * swooned, 
together with her friends. 

' Straightway, having her life revived by the exertions of her 
servants, now ^ upon the strand of the bank of a river ^ of exceed- 
ing cool camphor water, now on the shore of a stream of most 
chill sandal-wood water, now in the shade of trees "^ on the banks 
of pools covered with forests of lotuses,^ [^^o] ^ow in plantain 
groves whose leaves were swayed by the wind, now on couches 
of flowers,^ now on beds of lotus-leaves/^ with her body burned 
by the fierce separation-fire of the collection of the rays of the 
twelve suns arisen at the time of the world's destruction, exces- 
sively emaciated, and, as it were, lifeless ^^ (she cried) : " His lotus 
mouth with its lote-like lower lip overspread with a smile white 
as the lustre of the tremulous waves of the milk-ocean agitated 
by mighty, trembling Mandara^^! [161] His pair of eyes 
enamoured of his <ears> as a company of Brahmans is enamoured 
of <Holy Writ> ! The beauty of his straight nose which is spread 
full ^^ far abroad, as if eager to breathe the innate perfume of 
his fragrant mouth ! His row of teeth lovely as a digit of the 

1 Tel. ed. adds ' Yuthika, jasmine-adorned, agitate the damp winds with a fan of 
bits of plantain ' ! ; Srirangam text, ' bits of reed.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' be thou obedient to one like me ' ! 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * great joy.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' Vasavadatta.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' led by her attendants.' 

^ Tel, ed. and Srirangam text, ' on the bank of a river filled with.' 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' sandal-wood trees.' 

^ Tel. ed., ^ with very red dhak-ir^e?,, lotuses, and kadambas' ; similarly the Sriran- 
gam text. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' shoots of flowers.' 

^° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' now on rocks cooled by masses of camphor.' 
" Tel. ed. adds * devoid of strength.' ^^ jei. gd., * very greatly agitated.' 

^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * full.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 93 

moon freed from blemish and white as a mass of foamy milk ^ ! 
His beauty never seen before, surpassing Kama ^ ! Those 
blessed places and people, the pure letters of his name, [162] and 
the righteous things which have been adorned by him " ^ ! 

*Over and over thinking thus, as if he were painted on the 
quarters and sub-quarters * (of the sky), as if he were engraved 
on the cloud, as if he were reflected in her eye, she painted him 
in a picture as if he had been seen before, and kept gazing here 
and there.^ Then her confidante, named Tamalika, having 
regarded her together with her friends, was sent to observe the 
feelings of Kandarpaketu ; [163] and she came with me and is 
standing right here beneath the tree.' ^ 

So speaking, he (the parrot) ceased. Then Makaranda, rising 
joyfully, told Tamalika of the affair ; and she, courtesying, pre- 
sented an epistle to Makaranda."^ Then he ^ read it himself : 

[164] 'E'en when her eyes behold her lover true, 
A maiden wavereth 'twixt hope and fear; 
But when she only dreameth of his troth, 
Ah, then, what fond assurance can she have ' ^ ? 

^ Tel. ed., ' white as the foam of delicate nectar from a collection of the digits ' ; 
Srirangam text, ' beautiful as a collection of the digits.' 
2 Tel. ed., ' his beauty, surpassing Kama in visible form' ! 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * those blessed places, those pure people, the lucky 
letters of his name, the things adorned by him ' ! 

^ Srirangam text omits ' sub-quarters.' 

s Tel. ed. , * she kept looking for him here and there as if he were painted on the sky, 
reflected in her eye, or seen before in a picture ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

6 Cf. Gray, ' Literary Studies on the Sanskrit Novel,' in WZKM. i8. 43-45, 48-49, 
for paintings of beloved objects ; and for instances of love letters and confidantes as love 
messengers in modem Indian tales see Temple, Legends of the Fanjdb,i. 237; 2. 280-283, 
295-297; 3. 372-375, Bombay, 1884-1900; Knowles, Folk-Tales of Kashmir, 2 ed., 
p. 68, London, 1893; Swynnerton, Romantic Tales from the Panjdb, p. 389, West- 
minster, 1903, and Indian Nights Entertainment, pp. 171, 252, London, 1892. Cf. 
also Cimmino, VUso delle didascalie nel dravima indiano, pp. 35-36, Naples, 191 2. 

"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then Kandarpaketu, rising joyfully and calling Tama- 
lika, made known the state of affairs. She, courtesying, presented him an epistle.' 

8 Tel. ed., 'then Makaranda, taking it, read it himself; Srirangam text, 'then 
Makaranda, taking and untying the epistle, read it himself.' For the confidant not 
only reading the heroine's love letter to the hero, but also writing one to her for him, 
see Swynnerton, Indian Nights' Entertainment, pp. 171, 252, London, 1892. 

^ The literal translation of this stanza is given above, Introduction, p. 26. 



94 VASAVADATTA 

Hearing this, Kandarpaketu, being above all joy ^ as if plunged 
in the ocean of ambrosia, rising slowly ^ with both his arms out- 
stretched, embraced Tamalika. Then, asking her ^ the entire 
story of Vasavadatta, — * What does she do ? What does she 
say? How is she'? and the like — Kandarpaketu set forth, 
having passed the night there, and likewise the day.* 

[165] Meanwhile even that Blessed One whose garland is rays 
had descended to the middle world as if to tell the^ story. 
Then into the water of the western sea sank the jewel of day, 
having the form of the disc in the crest of the cock of day; 
moving slowly, as if because of the grief brought upon multitudes^ 
of Brahminy ducks ; charming with clusters of the flowers of the 
coral-tree "^ ; possessed of the loveliness of the frontal lobes of 
Indra's elephant, splashed with red lead ^ ; with a circlet like 
unto an earring of the jewel in the hood of the monstrous 
Vasuki, undulating beneath the bond of the mass ^ of tangled 
locks of Siva, shaken by the impetuous motion of his revel dance ; 
[166] delightful as a mass ^° of succulent barley to a bulling cow 
at evening ^^ ; with the beauty of a ruddy ^^ jewelled earring of a 
courtesan of the west ^^ ; formed like the rounded shoulder of the 
buffalo of day, cloven by the sword of blackness ^* ; [167] the 
Black Ascetic's begging-bowl, as it were, filled with honey ^^ ; 
seeming to be the beauty of the clouds with clusters of unfading 



^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' deeming himself, as it were, above all joy.' 
2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * very slovs^ly.' 
^ Srirangam text, * and then, sitting v^^ith her, he asked her.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * Kandarpaketu, vs^ith her and his friend, set forth 
from that place, having passed the day exactly there.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * this.' ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * hearts.' 

"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * coral-tree of the western mount.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * coloured with a line of red lead.' 
^ Tel. ed., * in the hood of monstrous undulating Vasuki, bound in the diadem of 
the mass ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

^0 Srirangam text, * dish.' 

^^ Tel. ed., ' delightful as a moist line of lac to a woman at evening.' 

^2 Tel. ed. omits * ruddy.' 

^' Srirangam text, * earring of Varuna's darling.' 

^^ Is there here a covert allusion to the victory of Kali (Durga) over the demon Mahisa ? 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * the skull, filled with sweet honey, of the Celestial 
Ascetic' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 95 

flowers ; like unto a cluster ^ from the uskoka-treQ of heaven ; the 
golden mirror, so to say, of a wanton of the west^; with the 
aspect of a branch of a coral-tree shaken by the motion of the 
tossing waves. 

And ^ gradually, [168] when the trees had their tops melodious 
with the soft notes of multitudes of sparrows, free from quarrels 
with each other * and desirous of their nests after having rolled 
in the dust and flown up again ; when the crows were eager for 
home ; when the inner apartments ^ gave forth the fragrance of 
the incense of aloes burning constantly ; when the old men were 
angered at interruptions ^ from the confused murmur of young 
folks eager to hear the poetic "^ tales begun by the sages seated on 
the banks of. the Tatini, adorned with millet-grass ; when the 
children longed for slumber, soothed with very light hands by old 
women ^ who told them stories ^ with tongues tremulous in the 
lullaby; [169] when the courtesans had assumed the insignia of 
passion ; when the sages had entered upon their evening devo- 
tions, disgusted at hearing manifold obscene words ^° from harlots 
possessed by their paramours ^^ ; when the forest regions had the 
surfaces of the very soft sites of cow-stalls occupied by herds of 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'clusters of flowers.' 

2 Tel. ed. adds *<going toward the west) and «red» as Bhadra was <addicted to 
brandy> and was «amorons»; abandoning <its rays> and «cloudy» as a foolish man 
abandons <his wealth) and is «dejected» ; with red <rays> as a Buddhist mendicant has 
red <garments> ; possessed of <understanding> as the sun was possessed of <Samjna> ' ; 
so also the Srirangam text, except * mighty Bhadra ' for ' Bhadra ' and ' poor man ' for 
* foolish man.' 

s Tel. ed., 'then'; Srirangam text, 'and then.' This entire sentence is translated 
and compared with Harsacarita, Jamnu ed., 1879, PP* 3°; 2-36, 4 (tr. Cowell and 
Thomas, pp. 67-68, London, 1897), by Cartellieri, ' Subandhu and Bana,' in WZKM. 
I. 118-124. 

* Tel. ed. omits 'with each othei.' 

^ Tel. ed., ' interstices in the lattices of the inner apartments.' 

^ Tel. ed., * filled with anger at the sound of ; Srirangam text, ' desirous of the 
cessation of the sound of.' 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * poetic' 

8 Tel. ed., 'when the children, longing for slumber, were attended by old women 
who were pleased at being patted by very light hands ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' many stories.' 

10 Srirangam text, ' had their ears disgusted by hundreds of obscene words.' 

" Tel. ed., ' when fair women were disgusted . . . ; when the sages had entered 
upon their evening devotions.' 



96 VASAVADATTA 

antelopes slowly ruminating ; when the thick woods ^ had nests 
filled with multitudes of sleepy crows 2; [170] when the trees of 
the hermitages ^ had * families of monkeys without their monkey 
tricks ^ ; when the flocks of owls that dwelt in huts within the 
hollows of aged trees were eager to set out ; when the lamplight 
flashed forth ^ as if the tips ^ of the rays of the sun had burst into 
a flame, going forth to affright the darkness ; when He ^ whose 
banner is a fish, who steals the mind of all the world,^ and who 
hath a resonant bow, was unceasingly ^^ raining a shower of 
arrows; [171] when the courtesans, lovely in their attire of 
passion's task ^^ and devoted to bawdy talk, were arranging their 
adornment ; when women had their hips resonant with girdle- 
zones ^^ bound on by their attendants ; [17a] when the courtyards 
had people hurrying to go to the houses of many folk ^^ who were 
continuing their narration of interrupted tales ^* ; when the pleasure 
gardens ^^ were inhabited by the cocks ; when the peacocks had 
ascended their perches ; when the householders had performed 
the duties of eventide ; when the swarms of bees were reposing ^"^ 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' clumps of village trees.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' ravens awakening from sleep.' 

^ Srirangam text, * trees in the gardens.' 

4 Tel, ed. and Srirangam text, ^ were filled with.' [noisy cries.' 

s Tel. ed. adds ' when the trees in the gardens had flocks of cranes devoid of their 

6 Tel. ed. omits 'forth.' '^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'branches.' 

8 Kama. ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' all things living.' 

10 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' unceasingly.' 

11 Tel. ed,, * charming and lovely in passion's attire.' ^^ Tel. ed., * girdle-adornments.' 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * houses of tellers of tales.' 

1^ On the popularity of telling stories at night in India see Steel and Temple, Wide- 
Awake Stories, pp. vii, 2-3, Bombay, 1884 ; Swynnerton, Rdjd Rasdlu, p. 152, Calcutta, 
1884; Day, Folk-Tales of Bengal, p. 176, London, 1883. According to some Oriental 
traditions (Rohde, Griechischer Roman, 2 ed., p. 593, Leipzig, 1900), telling stories at 
night was imported from Greece to India by Alexander the Great. But the custom 
prevails widely, being found, for instance, among the natives of Guiana (Im Thurn, 
Among the Indians of Guiana, p. 216, London, 1883), the North American Indians 
{yizAXz,Anthropologie der Naturvolker, 3. 234-235, Leipzig, 1862), the Micronesians {ib. 
5. 2. 81, Leipzig, 1870), the Africans (Nassau, Fetichism inWest Africa, \). 330, London, 
1904 ; Struyf, ' Aus dem Marchenschatz der Bakongo (Niederkongo) ,' in Anthropos, 3. 
742), and in Europe generally (MacCuUoch, Childhood of Fiction, p. 2, London, 1905). 
It should also be noted that the entire story of the parrot in the KddambarT (pp. loi, 
614-615, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 46, 203, London, 1896)) is told at night. 

15 Tel. ed. adds ' of the Kiratas ' ; Srirangam text, ' of Kirata houses.' 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' in crooked beds.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 97 

in huts within the hollows of lotus-buds, narrow because the tips 
of their filaments were bent up and down ^ in their contraction ^ ; 
— then, with the thought : ' By this path the lordly shining (sun) 
must go ' ! the lordly twilight was seen, as if with raiment of all 
manner of cloth ^ ; as if a continuous tessellated pavement ot 
jewels made by Ocean* ; [173] as if containing the blood of the 
buffalo of day, cloven by blackness ^ ; as if a coral-creeper of 
the great ocean of the sky ^ ; as if the red lotus of the pool of the 
heavens ; as if the golden bridge ^ of the progress ^ of Kama ; as 
if the madder-hued, ruddy banner of the palace of the sky ; with 
a yellow <sky> as at her self-choice Laksmi chose Him^ of the 
yellow <robes> ; devoted to the <stars> and with a red «atmosphere» 
as a female (Buddhist) ascetic is devoted to <Tara> and wears red 
«garments».^° 

And straightway ^^ — while the courtesans seemed to be pupils ^^ 
of the twilight skilled in <arrangements of pleasure-giving 
(musical) modes), for they were skilled in <amorous tricks of 
night>^^; [174] while the sky seemed to be a street of shops 
devoid of <them that hold the balance), for it was devoid of <the 
sustainers ^* of Libra) ; while the lotuses had the folds of their 
buds tightly ^^ closed ; while bees ^^ wandered here and there over 

1 Tel. ed., ' bent high up.' ^ Srirangam text, ' instantaneous contraction.' 

^ Tel. ed., 'with raiment of cloth on every side' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' made by Ocean for the sun.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'cloven by the sword of blackness.' Is there here 
a covert allusion to the victory of Kali (Durga) over the demon Mahisa 1 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' creeper of the western ocean.' 
' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' golden banner.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' chariot.' ^ Visnu. 

^^ Tel. ed. adds ' <reddened with buds> as a courtesan is <ad dieted to paramours) ; 
with <liver-red clouds> as a beautiful woman has <her breasts copper-coloured with 
saffron) ; with reddish <stars> as an ichneumon has reddish <eyes> ' ; so also the 
Srirangam text, except ' fair-faced dame ' for ' courtesan.' 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then straightway.' 

^2 Srirangam text omits ' pupils.' 

^3 Tel. ed. , ' when the courtesans were skilled, as it were, in nightly amours ; when 
the flashing lamplights seemed to be pupils of the twilight'; with no attempt at 
paronomasia. 

1* The moon, etc., according to Sivarama, 

15 Tel. ed. omits ' tightly.' 

^* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' swarms of bees.' 

H 



98 VASAVADATTA 

the lotus-pool as representatives of the darkness^ ; [175] while 
the lotuses, love-lorn through separation from the sun, seemed to 
wail under the semblance of the cries ^ of distressed female 
ospreys ^ ; while the early evening seemed an astrologer <pointing 
out the houses), for it <revealed the constellations) — there spread 
darkness like the blackness of the column * of Siva's throat ; 
[176] with most goodly <stars> as the army of the demons had the 
most goodly <Taraka> ^ ; increasing the outcry of the <owls> as the 
combat of the Bharatas increased the outcry of <Uluka> ^ ; dulling 
the glory of the <crows> as the prowess of Dhrstadyumna dulled 
the glory of <Dr6na>; with <owls> moving about as Indra's 
pleasure garden had <Indra> moving about; <hiding all the 
quarters of the sky> as fire"^ <consumes all its fuel); [177] resting 
its belly, as it were, on the mountain slopes with their very close 
fragments of stone ^ ; with its eye, so to say, on peaks that were 
red with lustre ^ from the light of the eyes of sleeping lions ^^ ; 
seeming to have life through the fire-flies ; apparently increased 
by the columns of smoke from oblations ; made dense, as it were, 
by masses of aloes-wood smoke ^^ in adorning the heavy tresses of 
amorous girls; [178] seeming to be illumined by spray from the 
stream of ichor from ^^ elephants' temples blackened by swarms of 
bees clustering right closely together ^^ ; heaped, if one might say 
so, in the shadows of clumps ^* of dense tamdla-trQQs ; apparently 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * repelled by the darkness.' 

2 Srirangam text, ' notes.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' while the lotuses, standing in water coloured by 
the reflected hue of twilight, seemed filled with fire through the pain of their hearts at 
the destruction of their spouses.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' column.' 

*» Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'revealing the <stars> as the army of the demons 
revealed <Taraka>.' 

6 Srirangam text, * of Uluka and ^akuni ' ; cf. Mahdbhdrata, 5. 161. 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the flame of fire.' 

^ Tel. ed., ' rough with their very close stones.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' splendour of the lustre.' 
1° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' lions awakened from sleep.' 
^^ Tel. ed. omits ' aloes-wood' and 'heavy'; Srirangd,m text omits 'aloes-wood.* 
^2 Srirangam text, ' dripping ichor fallen from.' 

1^ Tel. ed., ' seeming to be illumined by very thick swarms of black bees ; blackened, 
as it were, by the spray of dripping ichor fallen from elephants' temples.' 
^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' forest clusters.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 99 

lurking in the hoods of serpents, swart as lampblack ; the mantle,; 
as it were, of a woman who keeps an assignation by night ; the 
remedy, if it might so be termed, for the gray hair of an aged 
courtesan ^ ; the offspring of life, one might say ; the friend, as it 
were, of the iron age; [179] the comrade, in all seeming, of a 
rogue's heart ^ ; <concealing> manifest objects as Buddhist 
doctrines <deny> manifest objects. It was darkness which 
seemed to delight in the enchanting round lobes of absolutely 
must elephants ^ ; which apparently yielded fruit in forests of 
clusters of wide-spreading tamdla-irQ.es with exceedingly close and 
numerous leaves ^ ; which trembled, as it were, in the masses of 
very ^ heavy tresses of dearest sweethearts ; which apparently was 
mingled with rays of sapphire gems ^ ; [ 1 80] which was like the 
exceeding dense blackness in pits, on river-banks, and in forests '^ ; 
which was proud, it would seem, of swarms of bees, manifestly 
cunning, huge, and evidently strong, drunkenly dancing on the 
boughs of the conessi-hdir'k trees ^ ; gleaming with the hoods of 
serpents, destructive^ with very thick venom; broken ^° with 
menacing flashes from the teeth of tuskers, mad with their burden 
of ichor.^^ 

[181] And at the time of the rising of the moon with its black- 
ness of night, bowing low, as it were, with folded hands under the 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' courtesans.' ^ 'pgi_ g(j_^ < rogues' hearts.' 

3 Tel. ed., 'in the lobes of must elephants'; Srirangam text, 'in the enchanting 
lobes of herds of must elephants.' 

* Tel. ed., ' in swarms of bees, manifestly cunning, huge, and evidently strong, 
hidden in the calyxes of great expanded flowers on the boughs of many trees in the 
forests of clusters of wide-spreading ta;ndla-txtt=, with exceedingly close and numerous 
leaves.' 

5 Tel. ed. omits ' very ' and 'dearest' ; Srirangam text omits 'very.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'gems.' 

"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' forests.' 

^ Tel. ed. omits this description ; Srirangam text, ' swarms of bees, manifestly 
cunning, huge, and strong, \\\\h their feet hidden in the calyxes of great expanded 
flowers on the boughs of many trees.' 

^ Srirangam text, ' destructive to elephants.' 

10 Tel. ed., ' utterly broken.' 

1^ Tel. ed., 'burden of ichor; with the <zone of earth) folded up as the commence- 
ment of sunrise has <blue lotuses) folded up ; concealing <every fissure) as the high estate 
of the wicked conceals <all character) ; bo\ving, as it were, with folded hands under the 
guise of closing blue lotuses to the night which had come'; similarly the Srirangam text. 

H 2 



loo VASAVADATTA 

guise of closing blue lotuses, immediately ^ the stars shone forth, 
scattered like drops of the stream of water of Jahnu's daughter 
wandering in the winding hollows of ^ the mass of matted locks 
of Siva, shaken by the fury of his twilight dance ; showers ^ of 
drops, one might say, shed from the trunks* of the herd of 
terrible must ^ world- elephants bowed with the burden of bear- 
ing ^ the earth, hard to sustain '^ ; [183] masses of foam, as it were, 
poured out by the steeds ^ of day, weary of wandering in the far 
distant sky ; giving rise to the suspicion that they might be a grove 
of white lotuses ^ in the great ocean of the heavens ; like ciphers ^^ 
because of the nullity of metempsychosis, scattered ^^ in the sky as 
if on the ink-black skin rug of the Creator who reckoneth the sum 
total with a bit of the moon for chalk ; parched grain, it would 
seem, sown by the hand of Rati, (the wife) of Him whose banner 
is a dolphin,^^ and who setteth forth to conquer ^^ the threefold 
world ; [183] like globules^* on the pearly arrows of Him of the 
flowery bow^^; masses ^^ of foam, as it were, in the ocean of the sky ; 
handfuls of cosmetic, so to say, prepared by Rati in the courts ^^ 
of heaven ; multitudes ^"^ of pearls, one might fancy, in the neck- 
lace of the Laksmi of the heavens ; fragments of the bones of 
Kama, in all seeming, scattered by the wind's impulse ^^ from the 
circle of the pyre of the moon^^ ; [184] like the semblance of 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then immediately.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' wandering in her devious roamings in.' 
2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' wide-spread showers.' 

4 Tel. ed., * cheeks.' ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * must.' 

•^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' bowed with bearing.' 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * hard to bear.' [the mouths of the steeds.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' broad masses of foam on the edges of the cavities of 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * mass of white lotuses.' 

1** Literally ' points ' (cf. the form of the null sign in the Bakhsali Manuscript). On the 
importance of this passage for the history of the Arabic (properly, Hindu) numerals see 
Biihler, Indische Faldographie,^. 78, Strassburg, 1896 ; cf. also Smith and Karpinski, 
Hindu-Arabic Ntimerals, pp. 51-54, New York, 1911. 
^1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' painted.' ^^ Kama. 

13 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' in desire of conquest over.' 
1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' scattered globules.' 

15 Tel. ed., ' wide-spread masses.' 1° Tel. ed., ' in the delimitation of.' 

" Tel. ed., ' torn-off multitudes of pearls ' ; Srirangam text, ' old multitudes of pearls.' 
^* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' entrance.' 

13 Tel. ed., ' from the circle of the pyre of Kama, burnt by the Destroyer's (diva's) 
fire'; similarly the Srirangam text. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE joi 

parched grain ^ roasted in the pan ^ of the vast surface ^ of the 
sky, that was excessively heated by the evening breeze and 
smoky with the smoke * of rising dusk. 

With them the sky shone as if turned to a leper.^ Exceed- 
ingly distressed ^ was the pair of cakravdkas, filled with a series 
of <deep '^ sighs> and skilled in the joining of «bills in delightful 
contact» as the diction of a good poet^ is filled with a series 
of <long^ chapters) and skilled in the joining of «delightful 
paronomasias and vaktra metresS>.^^ [1^5] Separated was the 
pair of Brahminy ducks, whose feet were variegated by swarms of 
bees delighted and intoxicated by the honey-drops that adhered 
from their course through the clusters ^^ of lotuses, and who were 
parted by the incarnate curse ^^ of darkness as if by the noose ^^ of 
Death. [i86] The pair of Brahminy ducks was parted like the 
heart of a lotus, distressed by separation from the sun. A swarm 
of bees was seen moving beside a lotus as if they were the mes- 
sengers of the husband moon about to come. Under the guise of 
stars ^* the quarters of the sky made lamentation with great drops 
of tears/^ as if in grief for the departed Lord of Day.^^ Under the 
guise of its series of new filaments the lotus burned within the 
heart of its bud like a fire of chaff ^^ at separation from its shining 
love. 

^ Tel, ed. and Srirangam text, * parched grain bursted.' 

2 Tel. ed,, ' kitchen.' ^ Srirangam text omits ' vast surface.' 

* Tel. ed. omits ' with the smoke.' 

^ According to a reading recorded by ^ivarama, ' with them the sky shone as if 
spotted.' 6 Srirangam text, ' then exceedingly distressed.' 

■^ Tel. ed., 'very deep.' ^ Tel. ed., ' good poetry.' ^ Tel. ed., * very long.' 

10 See Weber, Ueber die Metrik der Inder, p. 199, Berlin, 1863; Tel. ed., * parono- 
masias, vaktra metres, and cakras ' (the latter being a carmen figuratum in the form of 
a disc; cf. Kdvyaprakd'sa, tr. Jha, p. 197, Benares, 1898 ; Vidagdhamukhamandana, 
3, 12-15, ed. Haeberlin in his Kdvyasahgraha^ pp. 290-291, Calcutta, 1847). 

11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'clusters.' 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * being parted as if by the curse.' 

1' Yama, the god of death, is believed to draw the souls of the dying from their 

bodies by means of a noose or cord. 
1* Tel. ed., ' under the guise of drops of water from the eyes of the stars ' ; similarly 

the Srirangam text, 
15 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * with great drops of tears.' 
1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the departed beloved of the Lord of Day.' 
" Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the chaff fire of the flame of grief burned in the 

heart of the lotus.' 



loa VASAVADATTA 

[187] Forthwith^ black darkness spread like a mass of colly- 
rium from the forest of the sky, reduced to ashes by the rays ^ of 
the sun ; blotting out <the heavens and the sky> as the words of 
revelation blot out <the doctrines of the Digambara Jains> ^ ; a 
molten rdjapatta gem,* as it were ; and as the surge of the ocean.^ 
And ^ straightway the Lord of Night ascended with the ruddy 
disc of his arising ; the ball "^ of the princess Night ; the ^ golden 
mirror of Kama ; like to a cluster of young red coral-flowers on 
the eastern mount ; round as drops of saffron on the foreheads 
of eastern damsels^ ; [188] like a golden earring of the beautiful 
sky ; a mass of henna, as it were, dropped from the hands of tiring- 
maids of celestial brides ; a golden jar, it would seem, in the 
stucco of the heavens ; a golden ^^ dish in motion, it might be 
termed, for the progress of the God of the Dolphin Banner, set- 
ting forth for the conquest ^^ of the threefold world ; stealing the 
beauty of the top of Kama's golden quiver ; possessed of the 
colour of the China roses that grow on the topmost peak of 
the eastern mount ; a dish, as it were, filled with a ball of pellucid 
saffron belonging to a wanton of the night ; [189] even as a single ^^ 
jar-like breast, tawny with saffron, of a fair dame of the east ^^ ; 
<occupied by a gazelle> as the milk ocean ^* is <ruled by Visnu> ; 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' by the forest conflagration of the rays.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' though <Krsna>, it concealed the distinctive 
characteristics of «Visnu», for it was <black> and concealed the distinctive characteristics 
of «all forms».' 

^ An inferior sort of diamond. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * as running streams of cloth of molten silver.' 
6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then.' 
' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' like a patchwork garment.' 
8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'like the.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' round as sectarial marks of bandhiika-^owQrs 
fastened to the forehead as adornments of eastern damsels.' 
i<> Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' auspicious.' 

1^ Tel. ed., 'seeking to conquer.' Tel. ed. omits the two adjectives following; the 
Srirangam text omits the second only, having for the first ' like the mouth of Kama's 
golden quiver.' 
12 Tel. ed. omits ' single.' 

^3 Srirangam text adds * a cage, so to say, for the pleasure birds of the female 
Vidyddharas that wander in the sky ; the lute-gourd, wrapped in red cloth, one might 
fancy, of a pair of kinnaras resting on the summit of the eastern mount.* 
1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' Garuda.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 103 

<with distinctive marks> as Rama was <attended by Laksmana> ^ ; 
the lord of the <stars> as Sugriva was the lord of <Tara> ^ ; with 
a <red disc) as a good monarch has a <devoted circle (of atten- 
dants)>.3 

Then * the glow brought close to night went to destruction as if 
entered into the heart of a loving woman ; as if drunk by the cups 
of the eyes ^ of female chickores ^ ; [190] as if licked up by masses 
of red lotuses. 

Straightway the Lord of Planets'^ ascended like a cake of 
butter^ exhibited by the neatress Night; a mirror, it would 
seem, bearing the beautiful face of Him whose banner is of 
flowers ^ ; the white umbrella, as it were, of Him whose banner is 
a dolphin ; the round ivory hilt, it might be termed, of the great 
sword of night ; the white chowry, one would fancy, of the mighty 
King of Passion ; [191] like to the sandy shore ^^ of a Yamuna of 
the night ; the crystal linga, so to speak, of the Great Ascetic of 
the heavens ; the ^gg of a black serpent, in all seeming ; a shell, 
as it were, of the great celestial sea ^^ ; a monument, one might 
call it, to Him whose banner is a dolphin and who was consumed 
by the Foe of Love ^^ ; like to the circle of the pyre, marked with 
charcoal in dark spots, of Him who was born of fancy ; apparently 
a white lotus of the Ganges coursing in the heavens ; a mass of 

^ See Mahdbhdrata, 3. 276. 

2 Tel, ed. and Srirangam text, ' with <reddened stars) as the Lord of the Monkeys had 
<Tara's love> ; dear to <R5hini (the fourth lunar mansion)) as a bull is dear to the <cow>.' 

3 Tel. ed., ' with a <red disc> and accompanied by «soft rays» as a good monarch 
has a <devoted circle (of attendants)) and is accompanied by «light taxes))' ; similarly 
the Srirangam text. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' then.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * pairs of eyes.' According to the conventions of 
Sanskrit literature, the eyes of the chickore {Caccabis cimkor, Gray) become red at the 
sight of poison. It is also supposed to live only on moonbeams (see below, p. 108). 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' female cakravdkas.* 

' Tel . ed. and Srirangam text, ' the blessed Lord of Stars, with his radiance destroyed. ' 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' fresh butter.' 

^ Tel. ed., * bearing the reflexion of a gazelle.' 

10 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' new shore.' 

11 Srirangam text adds ' the crystalline water-pot, so to say, of the Ascetic of the sky.' 

12 Tel. ed., * a monument, one might call it, marked with charcoal in dark spots, to 
Him who was born of fancy and was burnt by the fire from diva's eye.' 



104 VASAVADATTA 

foam, as it were, of the mighty ocean of the sky ; a quicksilver 
ball, one might imagine, of the dark metallurgist ^ ; a silver jar, 
so to say, spangled with shoots of millet-grass ^ ; [192] lovely as 
the wheel of Kama's chariot ^ ; the dove, it might be termed, of 
the palace of the heavens ; even as the beauteous crest-jewel of the 
eastern mount * ; like unto Airavata's frontal lobe when deprived 
of its minium ^ ; resembling a fragment of the head of an old and 
broken-horned cow belonging to the field of heaven with its white 
wheat of stars ; a silver vessel,^ as it were, yellowish with balls of 
sandalwood, fallen from the hands of a divine maiden. [193] And 
it was the white lotus of the bees of the eyes '^ ; like to ^ the sand 
bank bed of the geese ^ of the mind ; the crystalline fan of the 
fires of separation ; the round white whetstone of Kama's 
arrows. 

[194-195] Meanwhile there were equivocal and jealous ^^ con- 
versations, full of innuendoes and broken with emotion,^^ (delivered 
by the lips) of female messengers sent to sweethearts by hosts of 
women anxious for a rendezvous. [196] As for example ^^ : ' Be- 
ware of evil women's wiles, beloved ! Thou dost not truly know 
thyself ! [Beware, destroyer of bliss ! Truly thou knowest not 
that thou art made a wretched woman !] ' ; [197-198] ' Thou art 
a lover,^^ (even though) not one among them that draw and kiss 
(women and) make (them) run ! [Thou utter rascal ! Thou art 



1 Tel. ed., ' the celestial metallurgist.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * for the anointing of the Mind-Born God (Kama).' 
2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the white wheel, as it were, of Kama's chariot.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, interchanging this adjective with the one preceding, 
' even as the crest-jewel of the serpent-king of the eastern mount.' 

5 Tel. ed,, 'laved in the river of heaven ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' fan.' 
'' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the eyes of the world.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * like to.' 
■ ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' flamingoes.' 

10 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit 'jealous.' 

11 Tel. ed., 'displacements (of words).' 

12 The passage following is certainly the most difficult in the entire Vdsavadcdtd, and 
only the most probable of the many interpretations suggested by ^ivarama and Krishna- 
machariar have been adopted. The renderings here given do not attempt, therefore, 
to exhaust all the possibilities. The reproachful translation is placed in brackets. 

^5 Ironical. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 105 

hard as a rock ! Thou art magnetite, (even though) not one 
among loadstones, touchstones, (and) magnets!]'; [199] 'Thou 
art Hke a rower, devoted to other than the functions of his duty, 
drawing his sword in vain ! [Thou that hast the reward of duty ^ ! 
Thou art devoted to another (woman) and gifted with excessive 
speech to no purpose !] ' ; * Distressedly, as it were, thou thinkest 
in thy mind of one ^ hard to win ! [Good friend,^ thou thinkest 
of one 2 hard to win " as if she were thine own wife !] ' ; [200] 'He 
goeth in the ways of truth who standeth ^ filled with delight at 
the swords of his foes ! [He is insipid in his ways who standeth 
without initiative before his co-wives !] ' ; [201] ' He is a hero 
indeed who brings from the conflict the elephants of the foe ! [He 
is filled with delight who brings the wife of a rival to old age 
through (amorous) struggle !] ' ; [202] ' Holding a massy, broad 
sword, and suddenly assailing the foe, he obtains great glory 
through the conflict ! [Holding the thighs, hands, and hair (of 
his beloved), he obtains an excellent position with his body, unit- 
ing at the supreme moment !] ' ; [203] ' Set free from passion, thou 
art beautiful indeed, and friendly to mankind ! [Thou passionate 
man, bereft of lordship ! Thou art assuredly not lovely, and art 
deserted !] ' ; [204] ' Thou adornment of the earth ! Bold ^ (is 
she), white like the autumn clouds, with a clear sense of her own 
greatness, able to ward off the jealousy of revellers,^ with firmness 
and timidity in her mind, and world-wide truth in her speech ! 
[Thou wise one.^ thou utter destruction of the earth, not white 
like the autumn clouds, untransparent, selfish, jealous as a reveller ! 
" Patient (am I), loving to think of the adornment of the world, 
(but) in his mind is cowardice, and world-wide falsehood in his 
speech" ' !] ' ; [205-207] ' She, the receptacle of bliss, surpassing 



^ Ironical. ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' a woman.' 

^ The wife of another. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' he whose thoughts are on the ways of truth (or, on 
insipid ways) standeth.' 

^ Tel. ed., 'with her boldness vanished.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' able to defend the magnitude of her own evident 
thoughts of greatness.' 

'^ The supposed address of the woman in love. 



io6 VASAVADATTA 

Laksmi with her gentle smile/ (though herself) unsurpassed ; 
yielding unto thee ; with her heart spotless as a mirror ; trans- 
cending the tendrils with her lotus hand ; with coquetry in her 
sportful fingers ^ ; peering perturbedly^ through the interstices of 
the bars of her windows; — she suffereth distress at eventide,* 
being lonely without thee, her ram : for, O lord of life ! who here 
depend not for life upon some happy man ^ ? [Thou lord of vio- 
lence ! She, the receptacle of bliss, surpassing Laksmi with her 
gentle smile,^ (though herself) unsurpassed ; yielding unto thee ; 
with her heart spotless as a mirror ; transcending the tendrils 
with her lotus hand ; with coquetry in her sportful fingers ^ ; 
peering perturbedly^ through the interstices of the bars of her 
windows ; — she laugheth not, (but) suffereth distress at eventide,* 
being lonely without thee, her ram : for, O destroyer of life ! who 
here depend not for life upon some happy man ^ ?] ' ; [208] ' Let 
other women be ! I suffer slavery before thee ! Therefore be 
there love because of love ! [Thou that art cast off by other 
(women) ! Thou speechless one ! Thou slave (even) in the pre- 
sence of the base ! I ^ go to her ! Therefore let hatred arise from 
love !] ' ; [209] * Straightway thou art mightily beloved ; why dost 
thou not perform the lovely rites of love, especially since death 
standeth immediately near ^ ? [Thou art straightway utterly 
devoid of love, why dost thou not perform the lovely rites of love, 
especially since death standeth immediately near"^?]'; [210] 
' Thou purifier of them that have the minds of false lovers ! Thou 
glorious one ! By love is she ^ to be won, great and noble,^ with 
large eyes, with sidelong glances ; then her attendants will show 



1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' she by whom the lotos- dwellmg Laksmi is surpassed 
with smiling laughter.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' her fingers sportful, as it were, with coquetry.' 

3 Tel. ed. omits * perturbedly.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'she suffereth distress (even) without (an ascetic's) 
curse, having her destruction prevented by her folk.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' on what happy man doth she not depend ' ? 

^ The messenger. 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' since stern death is immediately near.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' this unparalleled maid.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * accompanied by Laksmi.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 107 

their slavery ! [Thou false lover ! Thou effacer of thoughts ! 
Thou inglorious one ! Alas, sir ! By love is she ^ to be won, 
great and noble,^ with large eyes, with sidelong glances ; then her 
attendants will show their slavery !] ' ; 'By thee, who art like to 
a lotus, the fabulous riches of thy foes and the faces of their 
women are blackened ! [By thee the faces of women like unto 
Laksmi are blackened, not the lotus faces of thy foes !] ' ; [^11] 
• Having inspired confidence of all, attended by Laksmi, depart- 
ing from the rules (of decorum), having obtained one to be 
obtained,^ wavering an instant,^ slow for modesty, with love vio- 
lently born through pain among the flowers of Him whose shafts 
are flowers,^ she fainteth limblessly. Limbless God ^ (saying) : 
" Bliss thou bringest me, thou that art devoted to songs of many 
measures " ! [Having inspired confidence of all, attended by 
Laksmi, (but) with her youth departed, obtained in a way she 
should not be obtained,^ wavering an instant,* slow for modesty, 
with love violently born through pain among the flowers of Him 
whose shafts are flowers,^ she fainteth limblessly, Limbless God ^ 
(saying) : " Woe thou bringest me, thou that art devoted to songs 
of many measures " !] '; [^12-213] 'What woman was (ever) aban- 
doned by thee that bearest love's burden, with thy beautiful lips, 
with thy sectarial mark characterised by a streak of dust,"^ with 
thy moon-like face, (when once she had) clung to thy heart ^ with 
her soft-formed hand, with her breast, holding the water of drops 
of sweat, moving on thy broad bosom, being overcome by thy 
unblemished lustre ? [What woman was (ever) released by thee, 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'this unparalleled maid.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' accompanied by Laksmi.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' having obtained to-day a covenant of all the v^^orld 
for some time, she, attended by Laksmi [having inspired an agreement of all, a woman 
who should not be obtained hath been obtained for some time].' 

^ Tel. ed., 'just for an instant.' ^ Kama. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * limblessly, Limbless God.' The * Limbless God ' 
is Kama. 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' characterised by Kama [characterised by lovelessness].' 

^ Srirangam text, ' what woman with beautiful lips that bear love's burden, with 
a sectarial mark characterised by Kama, (and) with a lotus face hath clung to thy heart 
[what woman with hideous lips that bear love's burden, characterised by lovelessness, 
devoid of auspicious signs, and with a moon-like face (!) hath clung to thy heart].' 



io8 VASAVADATTA 

with thy hideous lips, vile for love's burden, marked with streaks 
of dust, devoid of auspicious signs, with thy moon-like face,^ (when 
once she had) clung to thy heart ^ with her soft-formed hand, 
with her breast, holding the water of drops of sweat, moving on 
thy broad bosom, being won by gold unalloyed ?] ' ; [214] 'What 
gentle-eyed woman who fervently delighteth thee, that art not 
inflamed with passion, (but art) the essence of love, delightsome, 
(and) a most excellent lover, desireth another that is no lover, 
with her breast a ravishing opponent, charming with an eye that 
steals ^ the light of the gazelle's eye ? [Cruel with passion ! Red- 
eyed with lust ! Alas, an unlovely dame with hostile breast, 
gaining (thee) with an angry eye that steals * the light of sight, 
desireth thee, the essence of lovelessness, hot,^ pitiless, absolutely 
no lover, (and) bound for utmost woe !].' 

Straightway the world rejoiced as if it had entered ® the ocean 
of milk, as if it had entered a house of crystal ; as if it enjoyed 
the blessedness of habitation in the White Islands."^ [^^5] And^ 
in due course Kandarpaketu, accompanied by Tamalika and 
Makaranda, went to the city of Vasavadatta s father,^ while, like 
the sighing of the night, most gently blew the evening breeze ^^ 
with far horizons tuneful with the murmur of swarms of bees in- 
toxicated and delighted by many drops ^^ of nectar in calyxes of 
forests of white lotuses with unfolded petals of their buds ; with 
its coming greeted by amorous chickores sluggish from copious 
draughts of moonbeams ; bewitching because of beads of perspira- 
tion on the fair brides of the Pulinda king, wearied with the 
exhaustion ^^ of excessive love. 

1 Ironical. ^ See note 8, p. 107. 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' and with an eye that steals.' 

'I Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * and with an angry eye that steals.' 

s Tel. ed., ' lustful.' ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'plunged into." 

"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' as if it had settled in the White Islands.' On the 
White Islands see Hopkins, The Great Epic of India, p. 116, New York, 1901. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' and then.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' to the city of Vasavadatta.' 

1° Srirangam text adds ' removing the heat.' 

" Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' swarms of bees delighted with intoxication from the 
flavour of the abundant dripping of many drops.' 

^2 Tel. ed. omits ' exhaustion.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 109 

[iji6] Then^ he, whose power was that of Siva's joy, saw the 
mansion of Vasavadatta surrounded ^ by an encircling wall ; 
with its cloud-touching crest built in a quarter of the capital ; 
white with stucco ; with bits of gold,'^ pearls, emeralds, and rubies 
inserted one after the other like a host of deities staying to see 
Vasavadatta*; [217] adorned with banners that seemed to mock 
the beauty of the ocean ^ of the sky as if with clusters of the 
flowers of the cloud-tree disporting in the wind ; adorned with 
very numerous ^ streams flowing through courts with slabs of 
golden stone, (these streams) bearing the savour of water per- 
fumed with "^ camphor, saffron, cardamom, and cloves, and with 
palace doves sleeping ^ comfortably perched on slabs of crystal 
from shores unknown ^ ; [218] with waters full of the blossoms of 
the trees near the crumbling banks ^^ ; with seats ^^ bedewed by 
masses of spray moving at the striking of ^^ the firm buttocks of 
wanton ^^ damsels incessantly plunging and emerging; with flamin- 
goes whose noise would imply that they had settled near the 
sand bank formed by the stream of camphor^* ; [219] revealing 
the Brahminy ducks' sudden dread of darkness because of the 
groves of expanded blue lotuses ^* ; <containing goodly waters) as 
young women <have goodly breasts); bathing the <lips of the 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then, having entered.' Cartellieri, ' Subandhu and 
Bana' in WZKM. 1. 132, compares with this Candrapida's first meeting with Kadambari 
{KddambarT, pp. 182 sqq., Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 143 sqq., London, 1896)). 

2 Tel. ed. omits down to ' adorned with banners.' 
^ Srirangam text, ' seeming to have gold.' 

^ Tel. ed., * the mansion of Vasavadatta.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' city.' 

^ Tel. ed. omits ' very numerous' ; Srirangam text, 'numerous.' 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' bearing the perfume of.' 

8 Tel. ed., ' white doves of the palace born and sleeping' ; Srirangam text, ' curious 
white doves of the palace sleeping.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' slabs of crystal near the banks.' 
^0 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' trees on the crumbling banks.' 
^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' seats on the banks.' 
^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' upheaved by striking against.' 
^'' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' wanton.' 

1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * that they had perched on the sand bank of the stream 
of camphor.* 

^^ Tel. ed., ' revealing the terror of ducks and cakravdkas at the darkness because of 
the expanded blue lotuses.' 



no VASAVADATTA 

pitchers in water> as the battle arts ^ of Sugriva bathed <Kum- 
bhakarna in blood) ; <sprinkled with dust from the feet of fair 
women> as the shores of the sea are <variegated with the colours 
of beautiful trees> ; [230] <causing contempt for canals) as the dis- 
position of new monarchs ^ <causes dishonour to the honourable)^; 
adorned with palaces that seemed to bear aloft, under the guise 
of the strings of pearls placed on their pinnacles, a host of stars 
come in curiosity * to behold the damsels of the city ; [221] made 
brilliant with flocks of peacocks lurking in the vicinity ; present- 
ing the semblance of crystal pitchers ; on one side ^ showing the 
rising ^ of untimely clouds by masses of the smoke of aloes burn- 
ing constantly ; on the other side having peacocks dancing joy- 
ously/ called by the exceeding ^ deep roll of drums ; with the 
<descent of the eyes of the world) ^ as the even-tide has the <set- 
ting sun) ; with <charming women, filled with love-longing), as 
Janaka's place of sacrifice ^"^ had <Rama longing for his wife); 
[222] <delighting in love's union) as multitudes of mankind ^^ 
<honour divinity) ^^ ; the repository, as it were, of delightsomeness ; 
the home, so to say, of love ; the palace, it might be termed, of 
wanton sport ^^ ; [223] the place of assembly, it would seem, of 
loveliness. 

Kandarpaketu, as well as Makaranda, was astonished at 
hearing^* the chatter of the maidens, tender in their affection 

1 Tel. ed., ' battle deeds ' ; Srirangam text, ' tendency towardhattle' ; cf. I?:dmdyana, 
6. 67. 

2 Is there here a possible covert allusion to the recent accession of a new king inferior 
to his predecessor (cf. p. 9 above) ? 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' <with elephants going to the canals> as the rule of 
monarchs has honourable men, income, respect, and taxes>.' 

4 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * in curiosity.' 

5 Tel. ed. omits ' on one side.' 

6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * warlike preparation.' 

"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' having intoxicated peacocks.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' exceeding.' ^ Namely, to see its beauty. 

1° The Dandaka forest, where Sita was carried off from Rama. 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * humanity.' 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' adorned with many <walls> as a forest is adorned 
with many C^Z-trees).' 

^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' of all wanton sports.' 

^* Tel. ed., ' Kandarpaketu, entering that palace with Makaranda, hearing . . ., saw 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE iii 

one for the other ^ : ' Thou runnest successfully in thy running, 
Nigalita ^ ! Capala standeth unsteadily ! What of her ? [224] 
Here is the cluster of flowers fallen from thine own ear ' ! 
' Surekha, thou, whose beauty is entreated by the gods, art 
filled with wine (and) drunken ' ! ' Kalaha,^ thou dost wellnigh 
summon love by the soft tinklings of the bond of thy golden 
girdle ' ! ' Malaya, by thy very glance thou hast learned the 
will of Him who overcame Siva ' * ! [225] ' Kalika, loosen that 
noisy girdle, the banner of strife ; we hear the faint, sweet sound 
of the lute ' ^ ! ' My girdle is not the nuisance ; it is thou, with 
thy irrumation ^ and noisiness ' ^ ! ' This silly Avantisena is 
afraid lest she fall there in offering flowers * ^ ! ' Enough of thy 
tricks, Lavangika ! Thy tremor ^ betrayeth thy state of mind.' 
[226] ' Thy languid form seemeth to bear the wounds of Love's 
arrows, Anahgalekha ! The mighty wave of anxiety is indeed 
concealed to thy advantage ! Speak, doth the moon itself reach 
comparison in thy face, whose loveliness should be drunk in by 
the eyes ' ^^ ? [227] ' Somebody apparently dwelleth in thy 
heart, Sativrata ! Thy words are felt in a hundred ways as 

Vasavadatta/ omitting ' was astonished ' ; Srirangam text, ' Kandarpaketu, hearing . . ., 
entered that palace with Makaranda.' 

^ For similar series of exclamations, see KddambarT, pp. 173-174, 357, Bombay ed., 
1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 68-69, I44-I45> London, 1896) ; Harsacarita, pp. 177-178, 
277-278, Bombay ed., 1892 (tr. Cowell and Thomas, pp. 144-145, 247-248, London, 
1897). 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' (though) not addressed,' the Srirangam text adding 
' fair maid ' ! 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'Snrekha, with fair streak of wine on thy cheek, thou 
art a Laksmi wooed by the gods ! Drunken Kalaha.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'perform the will of Him (Kama) who overcame Siva ; 
thou hast learned it just with a glance.' 

5 Tel. ed., 'we hear this faint, sweet sound of the lute, the banner of strife,' 
omitting ' loosen this noisy girdle.' 

6 See Schmidt, Beitrdge ztir indischen Erotik, pp. 546-550, 593, Leipzig, 1902. 
' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'with thy noisiness and roughness.' 

s Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' there, in ofiering «<^^a-flowers, this trembling maid 
feareth that " I may fall".' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'tremor filled with sighs.' 

^0 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' thy form seemeth to bear the wounds of love's arrows, 
Anahgalekha, and thy pearl necklace is arranged at thy behest ! Speak, Utkalika, 
doth the moon reach comparison in thy face, filled with anxiety, (despite) the beauty of 
the lotuses in thine eves ' ? 



iici VASAVADATTA 

having the hardness of the hundred edges (of Indra's thunder- 
bolt) ' ! ' This braid of hair of thine, Kuntalika/ is like a bit of 
black cloud with a mass of hail with its garland ^ of lovely 
expanded Arabian jasmines ' ! ' Near the city gate^ Keralika, 
the sounds of song are heard ! What, pray, dost thou purpose ' ? 
[228] ' Instantaneously, even in the twinkling of an eye, Muralika, 
thou dost distress thy host of girl friends, trembling and anxious 
for a kind word ! Because of thy lover thou art abandoned by 
thy husband, who remembereth the bliss, driving away love's 
fever, that was gained by him, raging aloud as he thudded thy 
breast ! Why art thou distracted ? Thy lover longeth for 
a greater thing than a feast ; (and) thy husband [229] hath 
remembered thy favour, with its delightsomeness of passion ' ! 
' Doth not the wound of nails, sharp from fresh paring, cause 
pain by night in an amorous woman, Kuruta ' ? ' Why is not 
he moon, the place for the eyes of all happy people to gaze on, 
drunk in by thy shining eyes ? [230] Dear friend MadanamalinI, 
with thy caprices of union and abandonment cause thou distrac- 
tion by contact with thy ruddy lip ! Shining with his rosy crest, 
he (the moon) is like the cheek of a Malava maid flushed with 
intoxication ; what is the difference between thee and a creeping 
plant' ^ ? [231] ' Kurangika, prepare a blade of young grass for 
the antelope fauns ' ! ' Kisorika, have the young colts looked 
after ' ! ' Taralika, put in motion the mass of smoke from the 

1 Tel. ed.j 'beautiful Keralika' ; Srirangam text, ' Keralika.' 

2 Tel. ed., ' delightful with its garland.' 

^ Tel. ed., ' " Kuntalika, (thou art) adorned with thy tresses, and no sounds of song 
are heard near the city gate ! What dost thou purpose ? Instantaneously, even in the 
twinkling of an eye, thou hast thy host of girl friends trembling and anxious for a kind 
word " ! " Surata, by whom art thou now deserted that raged aloud in amorous sport, 
remembering the bliss, driving away love's fever, that he won in thudding thy breast ? 
■ What is said ? Thy lover hath been mindful of a greater thing than a feast, (even) thy 
favour, with its delightsomeness of passion ? In the night, with unseemly noise, he 
hath inflicted on an amorous woman the pain of his nails, sharp from fresh paring. 
Why is not the moon, the place for the eyes of all successful people to gaze on, drunk 
in by thy shining eyes ? " " Dear friend MadanamaUnl, cause not discontent in the bee, 
with his desire to approach and leave thy ruddy lip ! What is the difference between 
thee and a creeping plant with its abundance of quivering petals, soft as the cheek of 
a Malava maid flushed with intoxication " ? ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 113 

aloes ' ! ' Karpurika, whiten ^ the burden of thy breasts with 
camphor-dust ' ! ' Matangika, have the begging ^ of the young 
elephants borne in mind ' ! ' Sasilekha, draw a digit of the moon ^ 
on thy broad forehead ' ! ' Ketakika, note the longing of the 
bower of screw-pine ' ! [^32] ' Sakunika, give food to the pet 
birds ' ! ' Madanamanjari, festoon the plantain house as a bower 
for meeting'*! ' Srngaramanjari, prepare the arrangements^ 
of love ' ! ' Sailjivika,^ give a sprig of pepper to the pair of 
chickores ' ! ' Pallavika, make the artificial grove of screw-pine 
blossom with camphor-powder ' ! ' Sahakaramafijari, produce 
the perfume of the mango by the breeze of thy fan ' "^ ! ^ Mada- 
nalekha, write a love-line of the wind of Malaya ' ! \p<2>i\ 
' Mrnalika,^ give a blade of lotus-fibre to the young flamingoes ' ! 
' Vilasavati, make the young peacock sport ' ! ' Tamalika, per- 
fume the palace court ® with sandal water ' ! ' Kancanika, scatter 
liquid musk in the gold pavilion ' ! ' Pravalika, sprinkle the 
grove of young ^° shoots with saffron ' ! 

Entering^^ with these thoughts among others : ' Oh, the exceed- 
ing beauty of the mansions ! Oh, the wanton blissfulness of love ! 
This pavilion, for instance, made of elephants' tusks, whose beauty 
is the beauty of the spotless teeth of Malava's daughters, with 
wide interstices for the (amorous) sport of their (proper) seasons ^^ I 
[234] This pet parrot confined in a cage of bars made of golden 
rods ' !, he (Kandarpaketu) saw Vasavadatta brilliant with a pair 

1 Tel. ed., 'dust.' ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' washing.' 

3 A digit of the moon is ^ part of it. The purpose of drawing this emblem, 
according to the Sanskrit commentator Sivarama, was to frighten Love away, the 
moon being described by Subandhu himself (see above, p. 103) as the pyre of Kama. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' Madanamanjari, anklet it to the arbour of creepers I 
Kadalika, open the plantain house ' ! 

s Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' arrangement.' 

6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' Sanjivanika.' 

■^ Tel, ed. and Srirangam text, * efface the drops of sweat by the wind of thy fan with 
its mango perfume ' ! 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' Makarika, adorned by Kama.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * have the court of the palace covered.' 

10 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * young.' 

11 Tel. ed. omits these meditations of Kandarpaketu ; Srirangam text omits the 
exclamation concerning the pavilion, prefacing the whole with ' and he thought.' 

^2 See Schmidt, Beitrdge zur indischen Erotik, pp. 403-429, Leipzig, 1902. 

I 



114 VASAVADATTA 

of legs with <reddened feet> as grammar ^ has <rubricated pddas>\ 
with <goodly joints) as the Bhdrata ^ has <a hundred books) ; 
charming with <beautiful ankles) as the Rdmdyana is charming 
with its <Sundarakdndd> ; \p^2)^ vj\'Ci\ a glorious <slender waist) 
as the Chandoviciti has the glorious itanumadhyd metre) ^ ; with 
<hands and ears that must be reckoned with) as astronomy has 
the <Jiasta and sravana ^ that may be counted) ; <revealing her 
beauty) as the permanence of the Nyaya system ^ has its <form 
from Uddyotakara) ; decked with <ornaments) as an assembly of 
Buddhists ^ is decked with the <Alamkdra> ; [236] showing the 
<essence of delight) as an Upanisad shows him whose <being is 
bliss) "^ ; with beautiful <feet) as an abode with a family of Brah- 
mans has beautiful <conduct); with lovely <buttocks) as the 
beauty of the Vindhya Mountains has lovely <slopes) ; beautified 
with <massy hips) as Tara ^ was beautified in being the <wife of 
the Teacher) ; with a slender ^ <waist) that might be grasped by 
the hand as (Indra's) bolt ^^ of a hundred points has a slender ^ 
<middle> that might be grasped by the hand ; with a <lovely face) 
as the friend of Priyangusyama was <Priyadarsana) ^^ ; <glorious as 
the moon) as Brahmadatta's queen was <S6maprabha) ^^ ; [237] 
<incomparable) as the female elephant of the (southwest) quarter 
was <Anupama) ; adorned with a <sectarial mark) as the seashore 

1 Alluding to the red colophons of the pddas, or quarter-divisions, of each book of 
Panini's grammar. 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' Mahdbhdrata^ On the reference see Cartellieri, 
'• Das Mahabharata bei Subandhu und Bana,' in WZKM. 13. 71. 

3 See Weber, Ueber die Metrik der Inder, pp. 365-366, Berlin, 1863, the scheme 
being w j kj . 

* Two naksatras, or lunar mansions, corresponding respectively to S, 7, e, a, /3 
Corvi, and a, /3, 7 Aquilae. 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the science of the Nyaya.' On the importance of this 
allusion for dating the Vdsavadattd, see Introduction, p. 8. 
® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * the composition of the poetry of excellent poets.' 
■^ Tel. ed., * <joyful> as an Upanisad has <Brahma> ; <adorning humanity) as the 
radiance of the sun <lights the world) ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 
8 Tel. ed., ' Rohini.' The 'Teacher' is Brhaspati= 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' slender.' 

^° Tel. ed., 'the form of the bolt' ; Srirangam text, 'the stem of the bolt.' 
^1 The details of this legend seem to be lost ; cf. Lacote, Essai sur Gunddhya et la 
Brhatkatkd, p. 213, Paris, 1908. 
^2 See Kathdsaritsdgara, 17. 114. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 115 

is adorned with <tamdla-\Qd,wts> ^ ; <languid with intoxication) as 
Asvatara's daughter was <Madalasa>.^ 

Then sudden ^ faintness seized the consciousness of Kandar- 
paketu as he drank her in with an eye dilated with affection.* 
Beholding him in her turn, Vasavadatta fainted.^ Then, with 
their consciousness restored by the exertions of Makaranda and 
the attendant maidens, they ^ twain adorned a single settle. 

[238] Thereupon a vessel '^ of all confidence named Kalavati, 
dearer than Vasavadatta's own life (to her), addressed Kandar- 
paketu : * Scion of noble parentage ! This is no occasion for 
confidential conversation ^ ; therefore thou art told only the least 
part ^ ! The pain that hath been felt by this maiden for thy sake 
might be written or told ^® in some wise or in some way in many 
thousands of ages if the sky became paper,^^ the sea [239] an 
ink-well, the scribe Brahma, (and) the narrator the Lord of 
Serpents.^^ By thee ^^ a kingdom has been abandoned — what 
need of more ? Thou thyself art brought into peril ! When the 
night shall be near to dawn, against her will ^* this daughter of 

1 Tel. ed., *<giving joy> and adorned with a «sectarial mark» as the Reva is the 
<Nannada> and is adorned with <!iiamd/a-\ea.ves:» ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

2 This daughter of Asvatara is probably identical with the one carried off by 
Kuvalayasva (see below, p. 130). The mythology given by Subandhn, however, 
seems confused, and may be influenced by paronomasiac requirements. No daughter 
of Asvatara is thus far known to be mentioned elsewhere, and Madalasa is usually 
described as the child of the Gandharva Visvavasu and as abducted by Patalaketu, 
a Daitya prince, from whom she was rescued by Kuvalayasva, who made her one of his 
wives. She died of grief when she heard that her husband had fallen in battle. See 
Mdrkand'iyapurdna , 21-22. 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * sudden.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' with affection.' 
^ Tel. ed., * Vasavadatta fainted after him.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' these.' ' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * a friend.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' of confidential conversations.' 
° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * only the least part is told.' 

" Tel. ed., * might be written or not.' 

^1 See Kohler, ' Und wenn der Himmel war Papier,' in his Kleinere Schrifien, 3. 293- 
318, Berlin, 1900 ; Zachariae, ' Und wenn der Himmel war Papier,' in Zeitschrift des 
Vereins fur Volkskunde ^ 11, 331. 

^2 The cosmic serpent ^esa. 

13 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' and by thee.' 

^* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' into the peril of her, who has learned that " when 
the night shall dawn, against her will," ' etc. 

I 2 



ii6 VASAVADATTA 

our monarch is to be given in marriage by her father, [^^40] filled 
with alarm at the sin^ of her passing youth, to Puspaketu. son 
of Vijayaketu, the supreme lord of the Vidyadharas. Thus she 
has reflected ^ : "If to-day Tamalika comes not with that 
person,^ then inevitably must I lay me in the fire ! * " Therefore, 
most fortunate prince, through the power of her good deeds 
thou art come to this land.^ Thy highness is criterion, now, of 
what is fitting here/ With these words she was silent. 

Then, as if terribly terrified, as if bathed in the billows of the 
ocean of the bliss of love,^ as if anointed to the sovereignty of 
the threefold world,"^ Kandarpaketu, [241] taking counsel with 
Vasavadatta (and) leaving Makaranda there in the city to search 
for tidings, set forth from the city with her ^ by means of a horse 
named Manojava,^ who <ever faced his course) as a serpent <faces 
the wind>.^^ 

And ^1 by degrees — having gone, even in the twinkling of an 



^ Tel. ed. omits ' the sin of.' On the seriousness, and even sinfulness, of permitting 
a daughter to reach the age of puberty without being married, cf. Jolly, J?echf und 
SittCy pp. 54-58, Strassburg, 1896; Schmidt, Beitrdge zur indischen Erotik, pp. 645- 
649, Leipzig, 1902. 

2 Tel. ed. adds ' having taken counsel with us ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

3 Kandarpaketu, whom modesty forbade her to mention by name. 
* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * the fire must be my refuge.' 

5 Tel. ed. omits this sentence ; Srirangam text, ' and from the power of good deeds 
the full fortunate (pair) are met.' 

6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * bathed in the billows of the ocean of the ambrosia 
of the bliss of love.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' as if anointed to the sovereignty of the three- 
fold world.' 

8 Tel. ed., 'with this Vasavadatta.' 

^ It is, perhaps, worth noting that manojava occurs as an epithet of horses in Rig- 
Veda, 6. 62. 3, as well as in later literature (Bohtlingk and Roth, Sanskrit-Worterbuch, 
5. 531, St. Petersburg, 1868). 

1° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * who was adorned by <whorls on his neck> as 
a river-bank [Srirangam text, ' the ocean '] is adorned with <pearl oysters) ; who was 
characterised by <curls on his breast> as the forests of Vindhya are characterised by 
<pipul-\.xtt.%'> ; who went like <the mind> as a goose goes in <Manasa> [Srirangam text 
adds 'who was adorned with <studs> as a forest is adorned with <rhinoceroses>']; 
who was decked with <shoulders> as a tree is decked with a <branch>; who had <black 
about his eyes> as the thunderbolt is the < weapon of Indra>.* 

^1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then by degrees, going a journey of a gavyiiti [about 
four miles], departing through the enclosure of a cemetery, . . . going a journey of 
many hundred leagues even in the space of the twinkling of an eye, he again entered.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 117 

eye, many hundred leagues ^ through the enclosure of a cemetery 
thronged with flocks of fearless herons assembled in desire of 
a mouthful of flesh ^ ; [242] horrible with the howls of awful 
goblins that had kataputanas ^ quivering with eagerness for the 
hideous corpses chilling* in the circle of half-burned funeral 
pyres ; repulsive with patches of ground full of swarms of 
buzzing flies sprinkled with quantities of blood from the am- 
putation of ears and noses of thieves placed on the top of 
stakes ^ ; with the horrible sound of the bursting of human skulls 
slowly crackling as they were burned by fires of straw ^ ; [243] 
with its contour concealed by rows of skulls, ashes, <jackals, fires, 
goblins>, and serpents as He who holds the trident in his hand "^ 
has his contour concealed by rows of skulls, ashes, <Siva, the 
element of fire), and serpents ^ ; frequented by many <dogs> as 



^ For instances of the magic horse in modem Indian folk-tales, cf. Steel and Temple, 
Wide-Awake Stories^ pp. 425-426, Bombay, 1884 ; Day, Folk-Tales of Bengal, pp. 73, 
80, 214-219, 249, London, 1883; Thomhill, Indian Fairy Tales, pp. 108-145, 
London, n.d. ; Dracott, Simla Village Tales, p. 102, London, 1906 ; Campbell, Santal 
Folk Tales, p. 86, Pokhuria, 1891 ; Leitner, ' Historical Legend of the Origin of 
Ghilgit' (a Dard legend), in I A. i. 88. 

2 Tel. ed., * for the purpose of a mouthful of human flesh ' ; similarly the Srirangam 
text. 

2 Tel. ed., * horrible with howls from the awful throats of kataputanas^ The 
katapatana is the ghost of a renegade Ksatriya (Manu, 12. 71). 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' hideous corpses with the raw odour of their fat 
chilling.* 

' See Jolly, Recht und Sitte, pp. 126-127, 130, Strassburg, 1896. Impalement was 
accomplished by ' a stout iron rod with a thin point at the top. The condemned person 
was made to sit on the top which penetrated into his body slowly and went out by the 
head' (Ram Satya Mukharji, Indian Folklore, p. 129, note, Calcutta, 1904). 

6 Tel. ed. , ' noisy with the dancing of horrible demons at the ends of whose hands were 
skulls resounding with the drip, drip of the fall of quantities of blood fallen from the 
amputation of noses of thieves placed on the tops of stakes; repulsive with patches of 
ground filled with the abundant sport of swarms of bees ; awful with the bursting of 
sharply crackling human skulls, burning in fires of straw ; filled with fiery fire fired from 
goblins' open mouths; with the noise of the division of corpses made by hosts of 
monstrous female fiends with pendants of skulls that had entrails for threads ; with 
funeral fires circumambulated to the right by pairs of demons with auspicious marriage 
cords formed of wet sinews ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

' Siva. 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' with its contour concealed by rows of skulls, <jackals>, 
many fires, (serpents, and the moon> as He who holds the trident in his hand has his 
contour concealed by rows of skulls, <^iva>, many fires, and <lordly serpents).' 



ii8 VASAVADATTA 

the leadership of men is courted by many <kingdoms>i — he 
entered the Vindhya forest,^ which had a multitude of <bow- 
string-hemp plants) arising as the Last Day has a multitude of 
<suns> arising ; [^^44] with <infinite roots) as the existence of the 
Serpent King^ is <rooted in Ananta>; with <owls> dwelling at 
will as the assembly of the gods has <Indra> standing at will ; 
rich in many* <Bengal quince-trees) as honour to the noble is 
rich in <fruit of many* blessings); with <deep-rooted arjuna- 
trees) as the battlefield of the Bharatas had <Arjuna loftily 
grown) ; with <racemose asparagus plants ever with a thousand 
roots) as the status of Puloman's family had <Indrani fit for Him 
who hath a thousand eyes) ^ ; with fruitful ^ <ganikdrikds> as the 
bent of mind ^ of a keeper of courtesans ^ has a fruitful ^ <recourse 
to harlots) ; [245] with expanded <ushokas, Mr-pmeSy and 
kamala-trees> as the success of the righteous has <noble men 
joyous, free from sorrow, and upright) ; containing <emblic myro- 
balan) as the play of children has <pleasure for their nurses); 
composed in some places of <pepper-trees) as the bent of mind 
of the hero of Raghu's line ^ was toward the <princess of Videha) ; 
[^^46] with <amr^a-pl3.nts> appearing in other places as the time 
of the churning of the ocean of milk had <nectar> appearing ; 
with <(^/^r4;V/^-plants) at will as the might ^^ of Narayana was 
<invincible) at will; revealing <stalks of bitter-apples) in yet 

* Tel. ed. adds * dominated by <headless corpses) as the Dandaka forest was dominated 
by <Kabandha> ; surrounded by many <conjurers> as a universal monarch is surrounded 
by many <kings> ; with <crows> moving about as heaven has <Bala's foe [Indra]> moving 
about ' ; so also the Srirangam text, except for the omission of the last simile. For 
the allusion to Kabandha, cf. Mahdbhdrata^ 3. 279. 

2 With this description Cartellieri ('Subandhu and Bana,' in WZKM. i. 132) com- 
pares that given by the KddambarT (pp. 38-43, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, 
pp. 16-18, London, 1896)). 

2 The cosmic serpent ^esa. Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'kingdom.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' many.' 

^ Indra. ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * revealing.' 

'^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' of mind.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' Surapala.' The basis of the legend connected with 
him seems to be thus far unknown. 

^ Rama. 

"^^ Tel. ed., ' form * ; Srirangam text, ' <shining with pellucid water> as the might of 
Narayana was <bright and invincible).' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 119 

other places as the eloquence of Valmiki revealed the <lineage of 
Iksvaku); filled^ with many <dkak-irQQS> as Lanka was frequented 
by many <demons> ; encompassed^ with clumps of <arjuna-tvQ.QS 
and pen-reed grass) as the army of the Kurus ^ was encompassed 
with quantities of <Arjuna's arrows); with <many beasts)^ as the 
form of Narayana is <manifold); [247] filled^ with <jack-trees, 
sandal-trees,^ white lotuses, and reeds) as Sugriva's army was 
attended by <Panasa, Candana,^ Kumuda, and Nala) ; adorned ^ 
with <sinduras and glory-trees), and decked with <fresh buds) as 
an unwidowed woman is adorned with a <sectarial mark of 
minium) and is decked with <long hair); [248] occupied^ by 
<owls, crows, and birds, and filled with dhdrtardstra geese) as 
the army of the Kurus was officered by <Uluka, Dr5na, and 
Sakuni, and joined * by the sons of Dhrtarastra) ; though adorned 
with <unfaded caste), it had a <Slineage of no family»,^ for it was 
adorned with <globe-amaranth and Malabar jasmine) and had 
«no bamboos clinging to the earth» ^ ; though revealing <no 
terror), it was «full of terror»j for it revealed <Jiara-nut trees) and 
was <Sfull of reeds»; though <always in perfect health), it had 
a ^reat abdominal tumour»,^ for it <ever contained negroes' 
olive-wood trees) and had <Shigh-grown thickets» ; [249] though 
filled with dice), it was «unmolested by men», for it was filled 
with <bees) and was «rich in elephants' ichor» ; though adorned 
with families of <Brahmans), it had a «lineage of no honourable 
family^, for it was adorned with families of <birds) and had ^o 
bamboos clinging to the earth». 

Immediately^ the night passed with slumber of them twain. 
And by degrees,^ when, like a mass of live carp, the host of stars 



1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * in places.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the army of Dhrtarastra's sons.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * sandal-trees ' and ' Candana.' 
* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' adorned.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'it had a <hateful lineage), ... for it had <bamboos 
laden with birds>.' 

^ See Jolly, Medicin^ pp. 79-80, Strassburg, 1901. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * meanwhile.' 

8 Tel. ed., * and then by degrees' ; Srirangam text, 'then by degrees.' 



120 VASAVADATTA 

had been removed by the black fisherman casting his net^ of 
darkness in the great ocean of the sky ; [250] when the mendicant 
expanded lotus grove, wearing vestments of red robes ^ (and) 
bearing a book of a hundred leaves with reed threads of unevenly 
growing delicate lotus-fibres, seemed to pronounce his laws by 
the soft and very deep sounds of the bees,^ intoxicated by their 
heavy draughts in milking the drops of honey ; when, like seeds 
of blackness, the bees were sown by the darkness, as by a hus- 
bandman, in the white lotuses with their fields of flowers, with 
their masses of pollen made mud by the juice of their honey, 
with their petals touched by the clouds under the guise of bees * ; 
[251] when the lotus ^ offered to the Lord whose garland is of 
rays ® a mass of ^ incense, as it were, in the semblance of high- 
stalked white lotuses thronged with swarms ^ of bees with their 
pollen fire ; when the moon ^ resembled a mortar whose interior 
had been destroyed by blows of the pestle of rising dawn, shaken 
by the two palms of his consort Night ; when the hosts of stars 
had vanished like grain scattered in the threshing mortar ; when 
the hosts of stars seemed to have flowers ^^ expanded for the 
quarters of heaven that were bent like branches, and when 
the disc of the moon had fallen like fruit because of the monkey 
of day that, like the ruddy face ^^ of dawn, had climbed the tree 
of heaven ; [^^52] when the cock of day, with the lovely appear- 
ance of the new crest ^^ of the glittering Aruna, had begun to 
traverse the court of heaven, variegated with the threshed grain 

1 Tel. ed., * launching his boat.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * red robes of twilight.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * by the delightful sounds of the bees.' 
4 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' when, like masses of the seeds of blackness, the bees 
were sown in the fields of flowers, whose masses of pollen were made mud by the juice 
of their honey, the folds of whose petals were touched by the clouds.' 
■ - Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * lotus hermitess.' 
6 The sun. 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * a mass of.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * filled with smoke of swarms.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * disc of the moon.' 
^° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' an abundance of flowers.' 
11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' that, having the ruddy face.' 
^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' appearance of the crest of rays.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE lai 

of the host ^ of stars ; when the district of Indra ^ seemed to say 
with a laugh : ' This Lord of the Twice-Borii;^ increased by- 
concourse with me, will fall ^ through union with the district of 
Varuna ' ^ ; when to his rising had climbed the sun,^ with his disc 
red, as it were, with streams of blood from the lordly elephant of 
darkness slain by the stroke of the paw "^ of a ruddy lion ; as if 
with streams of ruddle laved by the cataracts on the summit ^ of 
the mountain of the dawn ; with the lustre,^ so to say, of rubies 
cloven by the hard hoofs of lofty steeds ^° ; [^5s] flowing with 
blood, one might imagine, dripping from the heads of must 
elephants slain by the claws of lions ^^ ; with the beauty, to all 
appearance, of the China rose growing on the summit of the peak 
of the hill of dawn ; seemingly with the delightsome flavour of 
Him who gives prosperity ^^ to the affairs of the threefold world; 
as if with his hand outstretched to seize the white lotuses ^^ of the 
stars ; tawny with the saffron colour of a wanton beauty of 
the east ^* ; the jewel in the hood of the lordly serpent of the 
eastern mount ; the golden ^^ bud in the sapphire-tree of heaven ; 
[254] the golden urn in the rampart ^^ of the city of the sky ; like 
to a jar of molten iron ; a drop of safflower extract on the fore- 
head of the east ^"^ ; the single flower of the forest ^^ creeper of 

1 Tel. ed. omits * of the host.' ^ The east. 3 fhe moon. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * is falling.' 

^ The west, with a punning allusion to Laksmi, the wife of Varuna. 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the blessed sun.' 
' Tel. ed., *by the fall of the hard claws.' 
^ Tel. ed,, * streams from cataracts of ruddle on the summits.' 
^ Srirangam text, * dust.' ^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' galloping steeds.* 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text transpose this after the following clause and make it 
read, 'flowing with streams of blood, one might imagine, dripping from the heads of 
must elephants slain by the claws of lions of the eastern mount.' 

12 Tel. ed. , * red, as it were, with colour eager to prosper ' ; similarly the Srirangam 
text. 
^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the forest of the white lotuses.' 
^* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' with rays tawny as saffron ; the golden mirror, as it 
were, of a wanton beauty of the east.' 
15 Tel. ed. omits * golden.' 

-^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' an urn full of gold in the eastern door.' 
1"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' a drop forming a sectarial mark of saffron set on the 
forehead of a damsel of the east.' 
18 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * young.' 



12,2 VASAVADATTA 

dawn ; like to a thread of cloth, red with Bengal madder, woven 
with threads of the colour of the dawn ; seeming to be the disc 
of a golden dinar of the east ; the magic globe, so to say, of the 
Vidyadhara of day ; even as the foot of a world-elephant, red 
with the colour of ruddle; the thief of the darkness of night^ ; 
when the young dawn was arising ruddy as a bit of fresh ^ coral; 
like a chowry, dyed with Bengal madder,^ on an elephant of the 
quarters ; seeming to emit the blood of the battleground * of 
the Mahdbhdrata on the plains of Kuru ; \2S^ anointed, as it 
were, with the beauty of the bow of the Lord ^ of the Gods among 
them that split ^ the clouds; simulating the red cloth in the 
huts "^ of Buddhist hermitages ; like to the colour of safflower in 
the streamers of banners ; the ripening of fruit, so to say, among 
the jujubes ; beauteous as a mass ^ of the saffron of ^ the courtyard 
of the mighty palace of the sky ; like the red entrance-curtain of 
the actor ^° Time ; and ^^ when the multitude of the rays of him 
whose rays are heat had suddenly become hot, as if from taking 
the burning grief of the hearts ^^ of the Brahminy ducks that were 
tremulous with gentle talk; from the entrance, so to say, of 
majesty commingled v/ith flame ^^ ; from union, in all seeming, 
with the fire which is ^* the beauteous jewel of the lord of day ; — 

1 Tel. ed., ' like a ball of madder cloth ; the disc of a golden dinar, as it were, in 
the girdle of a beauty of the east, fastened with the ruddy threads of twilight ; <gathering 
the stars together) as Kumara <destroyed Taraka) ; with beautiful <lotuses> as the Lote- 
Born God [Visnu] had beautiful <Padma [Laksmi]> ; beloved of <Chaya> as a traveller 
<delights in shade> ; being the <sun> as Indra is <G5pati> ; even as the foot of a world- 
elephant, red with the colour of the ruddle of the eastern mount; the thief of the 
darkness of dawn ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

2 Tel. ed. omits * fresh.' 

3 Tel. ed., ' like a mass of Bengal madder.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' of the battleground.' 
5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' of the Lord.' 

^ Tel. ed., * hid.' The reference is, of course, to the victory of Indra over the cloud- 
demons. 

' Tel. ed., ' branches ' ; Srirangam text, ' branches of the trees.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' mass of.' 

» Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'in.' ^^ Tel. ed., 'great actor.' 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' and.' 

12 Tel. ed., ' as if from taking the grief from the treasury of the hearts.' 

13 Tel. ed., 'from the entrance, so to say, of burning splendour.' 
1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' the fire which is.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE i;z3 

(then,) unconscious because of the condition of his body, which 
was empty of food^ in consequence of his wakefulness all the 
night, wearied by roving over many hundred yojanas^ [^5'^] 
(and) with every sense benumbed, Kandarpaketu, being seized 
by slumber which came at that time,^ fell asleep together with 
Vasavadatta, who was in the same condition, in a bower of 
creepers which was delightful with the hum of bees flitting about, 
infatuated and greedy * for the perfume of the flowers swayed by 
the gentle breeze. 

Thereupon, when the sun had climbed to noon,^ displaying the 
<sky> as a merchant displays his <cloth>; <lighting up every 
quarter of heaven> as a mighty forest fire <kindles all its fuel>,^ 
Kandarpaketu,*^ perceiving, in some way or other, that the bower 
of creepers lacked his beloved, and starting up and \%S1^ gazing 
here and there, now on the bushes,^ now between the creepers, 
now on the tree -tops, now in the hidden wells,^ now on the heaps 
of dry leaves, now on the sky, now on the quarters of heaven 
and ^° the spaces between them, made lamentation as he wandered 
about with his heart ceaselessly burning with the fire of separa- 
tion ^^ : ' O beloved Vasavadatta ! Let me behold thee ! [258] 
Hast thou disappeared in jest^^? Thou knowest what pains are 
suffered by me ^'^ for thy sake ! Dear ^^ Makaranda ! Behold the ^^ 
sorry sport of fate with me ! What meritorious deed hath not 



1 Tel. ed., ' which was subject to emptiness of food.' 

"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' a road of many hundred ^^'awaj'.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * easy to gain at that time.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' noisy, infatuated, and greedy.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' to the middle of the sky.' 

6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' <purifying every region) as the tree of paradise 
<accomplishes every wish>.* 

■^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' awakening.' 
8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' trees.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' now in the deep wells, now on the tops of the lofty 
trees.' 

10 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * and now.' 

11 Tel. ed. omits * with the fire of separation.' 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' enough of jesting ! Thou hast disappeared' ! 
12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * by me.' 

" Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' dear friend.' 
15 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' this.' 



124 VASAVADATTA 

been done by me^? Alas, my destiny of evil fruitage ^I Alas, 
the course of Time, hard to overcome ! Alas, the planets' most 
cruel glance ^ askance ! Alas, the unjust fruition * of my elders' 
blessings ! Alas, the result of my evil dreams and ill omens ! Is 
there no escaping destiny in any way? [259] Have not the 
sciences ^ been sufficiently studied ? Have not my teachers been 
duly honoured? Have not the (sacred) fires been revered? 
Have the gods on earth ^ been insulted"^? Have not the kine 
been circumambulated ? Hath not fearlessness been inspired in 
refugees ' ? 

[260] Thus lamenting in ways manifold,^ passing forth from 
the forest toward the south and going ^ for a considerable 
distance ^^ along the great ocean's lagoon with^^ its new reeds, 
spikenard, lotuses, niculas, tamarisks,^^ rattan-canes, and medlars^^; 
with its borders overgrown with many poonga-oW plants, Bengal 
quinces, leaf hermitages, and conessi'h2ir\i trees ^* ; with its fair 
Madagascar potato groves eagerly tasted by the great bees ; 
[361] with swarms of bees clustering on the stems of young 
varuna-trees which covered over the wide-spreading masses of 
rattan creepers ^^ ; with its trees smeared with liquid showers from 



1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * what unholy deed hath aforetime been done by me ' ? 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' alas, the evil fruitage of destiny ' ! 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * fall.' * Tel. ed., * discrepancy.' 

° Tel. ed., * hath not science.' ^ The Brahmans. 

' Tel. ed. omits this question. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * desirous of death.' 

^ The passage * going ... he (then) saw ' is compared with Harsacarita, pp. 262- 
264, Bombay ed., 1892 (tr. Thomas, pp. 233-235, London, 1897), and translated by 
Thomas, 'Subandhu and Bana,' in WZKM, 12. 21-27. 
^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * a journey of considerable distance.' 
" Tel. ed., ' abounding in.' 
- ^^ Tel. ed. omits * tamarisks.' 

^^ Srirangam text, ' abounding in new reeds, spikenard, lotuses, niculas, tamarisks, 
vanjulasj and ^/^zV-pines, and with multitudes oi pootiga-oi\ plants and Bengal quinces 
Tel. ed. adds 'poonga-oi\ plants and Bengal quinces.' 

^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * with many leaf hermitages variously built and with 
conessi-hzxk trees.' 

^^ Tel. ed., * with swarms of bees clustering on the branches of the varuna-trees 
which covered over the wide-spreading masses of mango creepers that were eagerly 
tasted by female bees.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 125 

masses of honey from dripping hives, broken open by monkeys ^ ; 
[262] dense with palmyra-palms, marsh date-palms, betel-nut 
palms, kamila-trees, and iron-wood trees ^ ; impenetrable with 
clumps of camphor-trees, Arabian jasmines, screw-pines, mountain 
ebony, coral-trees, citrons, basil, and rose-apple trees ^ ; [26^] with 
bowers of river reeds filled with the cries of unhampered galli- 
nules* ; with twigs of luxuriant^ mangoes inhabited by koels^ with 
their massed, sharp notes ; with spreading boughs "^ pressed by 
families of cocks in their swaying nests ^ ; with rows of globe- 
amaranth horripilated with hosts of buds ; with its ten quarters 
anointed with the beauty of the red ushoka twigs ; with masses 
of dust ^ from quantities of the pollen of full-blown iron- wood 
trees ^^ ; producing delight for mankind by the sweet humming 
of bees maddened by clusters of flowers tawny with pollen ^^ ; 
horribly ^^ scratching the temples of fearless elephants rubbed by 
the boughs of the trunks ^^ of the wingseeds that were darkened 
with ichor ^* ; [264] with hollow trunks of conessi-hdx\i trees 
turned into homes for the silk-cotton trees ^^ which are propagated 

1 Tel. ed., * with the spray of liquid showers of masses of dripping honey broken by 
monkeys' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

2 Tel. ed., 'with lofty cocoanut-palms, betel-nut palms, palmyra-palms, tamdla- 
trees, marsh date-palms, kamila-tiees, iron-wood trees, nagkassar-ixQts, and camphor- 
trees ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

' Tel. ed., 'impenetrable with bushes of Arabian jasmines, screw-pines, mountain 
ebony, bowstring-hemp, rose-apple trees, citrons, and basil ; with branches of many 
jack-trees rubbed together by the wind ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

* Tel. ed., 'with numbers of bowers on the river-banks filled with the cries of 
gallinules ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' luxuriant.' 

6 Tel. ed., ' by thronging, eager bees.* 

"^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * with many spreading boughs.' 

* Tel. ed. omits * in their swaying nests.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' with its edges made gray.' 

^° Tel. ed., 'pollen of the expanded flowers of iron-wood trees'; similarly the 
Srirangam text. 

11 Tel. ed., 'bees glittering from the sinduvdra-trees, tawny with masses of pollen; 
with cloves, chainpaks, mahwa-txtts, purging cassias, wingseeds, and kadajnbas'; 
similarly the Srirangam text. 

12 Tel. ed. omits ' horribly.' 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' of the trunks.' 

1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' scraping the ichor-darkened cheeks.' 

15 Tel. ed., ' with crooked, hollow trunks of silk-cotton trees.' 



136 VASAVADATTA 

within a few days ; with delightful sounds made by the tremulous, 
twittering hen-sparrows mating with the cock-sparrows; famed 
for clever ^ chickores renowned for going with ^ their mates ; with 
young hares ^ resting comfortably on the surfaces of very smooth * 
mountain rocks ; \pi^S\ with hosts of lizards dwelling fearlessly in 
holes in the roots of the indrdnls ; with undismayed antelopes ^ ; 
with the sport of hosts of^ unmolested mungooses ; with opening 
mango buds surrounded by flocks of sweet koels ; with herds of 
yaks chewing their cuds in the mango forest ; having for its 
drum ^ the flapping of the ears of herds of elephants, slow with 
slumber from ^ the roar of the waterfalls, sportful and delightsome 
to hear, on the mountain slopes ; with herds of deer delighted 
by the notes of the songs ^ of kinnarzs close by ^^ ; [^z66'\ with the 
edges of the snouts of young boars shining with the flow of 
crushed greenish-yellow turmeric ^^ ; with multitudes of jdlakas 
humming about masses of coral-bead plants ^^ ; filled with shells 
of pink insects split open by the tips of the nails of young 
monkeys that had been angered by their bites ^^; with multitudes 
of lions illumined with beautiful heavy manes smeared with 
quantities of blood ^* from must elephants' frontal-lobes split open 
by terrible blows from masses of claws sharp as the tips of the 
thunderbolt ^^ ; he (then) saw the ocean skilfully imitating, by the 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * clever.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' eager to consort with.' 

^ Tel. ed, and Srirangam text, ' with multitudes of young hares.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' sweet smelling.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' herds of antelopes.' 

6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' hosts of.' 

'^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * with the drum-noise of.' 

8 Tel. ed., * slow from the joy of slumber, (yet) anxious to hear'; similarly the 
Srirangam text. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * delighting in hearing the song.' 
- "^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * neighbouring.' 

11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' delighted with the noise and the flow of turmeric' 

12 Tel. ed., ' with litters of wood hedgehogs in many bowers of coral -bead plants'; 
similarly the Srirangam text. 

13 Tel. ed., ' with multitudes of worms in the cavities of trumpet-flower trees split 
open by slaps from the pa^s of young monkeys that had been angered by the bites of 
wood flies ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

1* Tel. ed., 'ichor.' is Quoted by Vamana, Kdvyalamkaravrtti^ i. 3. 26. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 127 

mass of its exceedingly active waves,^ the God ^ that hath the 
short axe upraised by his staff-like arm ^ in his revel dance ; 
[26y] with its edges charming because of lines of foam that seemed 
to be the emblems of Ocean's* victory; that resembled delight- 
ful ^ clusters of sloughs of the family of Sesa ^ ; masses of atoms, 
as it were, of the remnants of the moon ^ ; streams of cosmetic, in 
all seeming, for the sport of Laksmi ; like to bits of the sandal 
paste of the sea nymphs ^ ; a second heaven, so to speak, come 
down to earth under the guise of a sea ; tempting the birds, as 
with pearls, by masses of drops of rising spray ^ ; with its bays 
filled with mountains of many winged creatures ^^ that had come 
to seek security ; dug by hundreds ^^ of the sons of Sagara ^^ ; with 
uprooted coral-trees ^^ ; a mine of beautiful gems and jewels ; 
filled with hosts of ^* monkeys and dolphins ; [ci68] with multi- 
tudes of crocodiles roving about in their desire for mouthfuls of 
shoals of sakulas ^"^ ; filled with restless timingilas ^^ ; with thickets 
of carambolas, cloves, and citrons swaying in the tide (and) rocked 



1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' on account of its shore being lashed by an abundance 
of exceedingly active water.' 

2 ^iva. ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' many staff-like arms.' 
* Srirangam text, * Varuna's.' 

s Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' delightful.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' like consorts of ambrosia ; sisters uterine, so to 
say, of light.' 

■^ Srirangam text, * disc of the moon ' ; Tel. ed., 'a series of atoms, as it were, of the 
disc of the moon.' The date of the composition of the Vasavadattd forbids us to see 
in the mention of the moon {saidhka) a. reference to the Gauda king Sasanka against 
whom Harsa made war {Harsacarita, tr. Cowell and Thomas, pp. x, 275, London, 
1896 ; Ettinghausen, Harsa Vardhana, empereur et poete de rinde septentrionale, 
pp. 10, 38, 42, Paris, 1906 ; cf. also above. Introduction, p. 10). 

8 Tel. ed., * seeming to hold a mirror.' 

^ TeL ed., ' like to bits of the unguent of camphor streams on the bosoms of the sea- 
nymphs.' 

10 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' a second heaven, so to speak, come down to earth ; 
tempting the birds, as with pearls, by masses of spray rising from the pellucid water.' 

11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the host.' 

12 Cf. Mahdbhdrata, 3. 106-109. 

13 Tel. ed., * with coral-trees beautified by the mouths of mussels ' ; Srirangam text, 
' with a mass of water going to the submarine fire; with the coral-tree won by Indra.' 

1* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' hosts of.' 

15 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' flocks of birds.' 

16 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * filled with motionless whales and tifnihgilas? 



128 VASAVADATTA 

by the circling mountain of the plantain-trees on its bank ^ ; with 
the young sdivdla on the sand banks in its waters ^ trampled by 
pairs of mermen alarmed by the terrible swaying, produced by 
wave and wind, of palmyra-palms, marsh date-palms, and taliera- 
palms ^ ; with letters on its banks scrawled by the edges of 
whelks * that were distressed because their mouths were torn by 
tips of coral prongs ; with its waters crowded by flocks of birds of 
Garuda's race ; seeming to have the completion of its slow churn- 
ing still unfinished because of its eddying whirlpools ; epileptic, 
as it were, because of its foam^; [2^69] filled with the goodly 
delights of drink, one might fancy, because of the perfume of the 
medlars on its banks ^ ; angry j"^ so to say, because of its roarings ; 
appearing to be distressed because of its sighings ^ ; seamed with 
frowns, it might be thought, because of its waves ; resembling an 
elephant corral because of Rama's bridge ; the birthplace of 
<salt> as the womb of Kumbhinasi was the birthplace of <Lavana>; 
<lavish in its duties toward the wide-spread ^ rivers that were its 
spouses) as grammar has <abundant comprehensive feminines, i 
and u declensions, and gerunds)^^ ; showing a great <bed> as the 
retinue of a king shows great <ministers> ; with <hisses> emitted by 
many <serpents> that had come to its <waters> as an elephant's 
place of bondage has <trumpetings> emitted by many <elephants> 
that have come to the <tying-place> ; [iZ7o] adorned with 
iambhojacamaras and fish> as the series of Visvamitra's sons was 



1 Tel. ed., ' impenetrable because of the thickets of cardamoms, carambolasy cloves, 
and citrons swaying in the circuit of the plantain forest ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

2 Tel. ed. omits * in its waters ' ; Srirangam text, * low-lying, small 'sdivdla^ 

5 Tel. ed., * mermen moving in the forest of /a/zVra-palms, terrible, very tremulous, 
and howling with wave and wind ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

4 Tel. ed., ' by the noisy, sharp tips of the whelks '; Srirangam text, * tips of the 
sharp nails of the whelks.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' the masses of its white foam.' 

6 Tel. ed., 'possessed of the perfume of drink, one might fancy, because of the 
perfume of its cardamoms ' ; Srirangam text, ' because of the perfume of the medlars on 
its shore.' 

^ Tel. ed., 'noisy.' 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * exhalations of its serpents.' 

9 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' wide-spread ' and ^ comprehensive.' 
10 See Pdnini, i. 4. 3 ; 3. i. 95. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 129 

adorned with <lotuses, chowries, and the Matsyas)^ ; the refuge of 
<mountains> as a good man is the refuge of his <family>^ ; charming 
in that it was the <abode of Visnu> as a noble man is charming 
because of his <unshaken firmness) ; with <crocodiIes and dolphins 
ready> as an upright prince <promotes the affairs of good folk> ; 
with its <surface overflowed by the Karat6ya> as a wrathful man 
has his <face covered with water from his hands> ; [271] sprinkled 
with the water of the <Candana> as one separated (from his 
beloved) is sprinkled with <sandal> water ; followed by the 
<Narmada> as a voluptuary is followed by <jesters>^; though it 
had <cast forth its venom>,* it showed an abundance of «poison», 
for it <raised aloft a mass of dark blue> and showed an abundance 
of «water» ; though it was very <old>, «fair women clung about 
its neck», for it was very <great> and its «vicinity was filled with 
Madagascar potatoes» ; though it was the place of origin of <the 
gods>, it was «not ruled by the gods», for it was the place of 
origin of <Sura> * and was «:ruled by the demons^. 

[272] And he thought : * Ah, me ! Kindness hath been shown 
by Fate even though it hath wrought injury, since this ocean 
hath been brought ^ within the range of mine eyes ! Therefore, 
abandoning my body here, I shall quench the fire of separation 
from my love.^ Even though desertion of the body"^ is not 
permitted one free from disease, yet it must be done.^ Doth not 
every one do deeds which ought to be done or ought not to be 
done ? Thus, what is not done by each one in vain life ^ ? 
[273] As for example ^^ : <the Lord of the Twice-Born> ravished 

* Tel. ed, and Srirangam text, * adorned with dotuses and beautiful fish> as the series 
of Vi^vamitra's sons was adorned with <Ambhoja, Caru, and Matsya>,' 

2 Tel. ed., * with superiority in <mountains> as a good man has superiority in <family>.* 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' with <fishes and crabs> as the zodiacal signs have 

<Pisces and Cancer> ; adorned with many <pearls> as a voluptuary is adorned with 

many <courtesans>.' 

* Namely, at the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons, 
5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * hath come.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' therefore I abandon my body here.' 
7 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' of life.' 8 Xel. ed. adds ' by us.' 

9 Tel. ed., 'every one doth not do everything he should in vain life. What, indeed, 
is not done by whom ? ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 
10 A similar list of misdeeds of divine and amous personages is given in the Dasa- 

K 



13© VASAVADATTA 

his <teacher's wife> ^ and <a most excellent Brahman) ravished 
the <wife of his eldersX Pururavas was destroyed because of his 
greed for the wealth of Brahmans.^ Nahusa, lusting for another's 
spouse, became a great <serpent> and became a great <profligate>.^ 
Yayati fell, <having wedded> a Brahman girl,* and <took hold 
of the hand> of a Brahman girl.* [274] Sudyumna <became a 
woman>,^ so to say, and was <fond of womenX The cruelty of 
Somaka's murder of <Jantu> was notorious ^ and the cruelty of 
his murder of <Hving creatures> was notorious.® Purukutsa was 
despisedJ Kuvalayasva carried off^ <Asvatara's daughter) and 
carried off ^ <a young she-mule>. ['Z75] Nrga became a lizard.^ 
<Kali> conquered Nala and <strife> conquered Nala.^^ Samvarana 
became infatuated with the daughter of <Mitra>i^ and became 
infatuated with the daughter of <his friendX [276] Da^aratha 
died through madness for his beloved <Rama> and through the 
madness of a beloved <wife>. Kartavlrya perished through his 

kumdracarita, p. 72, Bombay ed., 1898 (tr. Meyer, p. 209, Leipzig, 1902). This 
passage of Subandhu is compared with its elaboration in the Harsacarita^ pp. 20 sqq., 
Jamnu ed., 1879 (tr. Cowell and Thomas, pp. 74-75, London, 1897), and translated 
by Cartellieri, *Snbandhu and Bana,* in WZKM. i. 126-132 (cf. also 13. 68). For 
other lists of precedents see Harsacarita, pp. 199, 221-224, 288, Bombay ed., 1892 
(tr. Cowell and Thomas, pp. 169, 192-194, 258, London, 1897) ; Kddambarty pp. 166, 
339-340, 341, 600, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 64, 137, 138, 200-201, London, 
1896). 

1 The reference is, of course, to the famous rape of Tara, the wife of Brhaspati, by 
the moon ; cf. Harivamia^ 25 ; Visnupurdna, 4. 6. 

2 Cf. Mahdbhdrata, i. 75. 

' Tel. ed., 'lusting for Indra's spouse, went to serpenthood (or, 'profligacy')'.; 
similarly the Srirangam text; cf. Mahdbhdraia, 5. 11-17. 

* Tel. ed., 'the daughter of a household priest' ; cf. Mahdbhdrata, i. 78-86. 
5 See Rdmdyana^ 7. 87-90. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * in the world ' ; cf. Mahdbhdraia, 3. 127-128. 

■^ Tel. ed., 'despised, as it were.' The legend to which Subandhu here alludes is 
uncertain, and is perhaps due simply to a popular etymology of Purukutsa as the 
* much despised* (cf. kufsay, ' to despise '). Sayana, however, on Rig- Veda, 4. 42. 8 
(cf. also Sieg, Sagenstoffe des Rgveda, i. 97, Stuttgart, 1902 ; Muir, Original Sanskrit 
Texts, i^. 267, London, 1872), mentions an itihdsa, or legend, which states that 
Purukutsa was once imprisoned, so that his realm had no ruler. His chief wife then 
prayed to the seven Rsis for a son, whereupon, in answer, she gave birth to Trasadasyu. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * went to ' ; cf. Mdrkandeyapurdna, 21-22. 
^ See Mahdbhdrata, 13. 70 ; Harivamsa, 171. 

" Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' Nala was conquered by Kali (or, ' by strife ').' 
^1 See Mahdbhdrata, 1. 173-175. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 131 

oppression of <a Brahman for a cow> ^ and through his oppression 
of <cows^ and BrahmansX Yudhisthira deserted truth in the 
forefront of battle.^ Santanu wept in the forest on account of 
excessive affection.^ Thus no one is immaculate.* Therefore, 
I, too, will abandon my body.* 

[277] So thinking, he approached the water of a broad, sandy 
bank, the hiding places of whose fish were pierced by the tips 
of the sharp talons of the ospreys ; with the scales of shoals of 
sakulas and the excrement of otters ^ ; with its margin surrounded 
by rows of carapaces of horrible crabs that had been abandoned 
by packs of jackals ; with its environs whitened ^ by multitudes 
of cranes, motionless and intent on devouring shoals of carp that 
were agitated and wavering because of the exceedingly ^ unsteady 
flow of the water ; which was very cool, being united with the 
motion of the wind that was generated by quantities of drops ^ 
of water shaken by the sport of schools of extremely active 
Gangetic porpoises ; [278] with its uneven banks seamed by the 
tips of veiy young wild ^ buffaloes' horns that dropped off daily ; 
tuneful with the sweet songs of flocks of continually restless 
dhdrtardstra geese ; [279] with the soil along its waters crushed 
by the repose of mermen and bright with the rays of the sun ^^ ; 
delightful with the humming of bees^^ that had settled on 
hundreds of mighty ^^ elephants, whose sloping cheeks were 
flecked with exceedingly copious ichor; with its circumference 
filled with multitudes of gems ^' that had fallen in the dance of 



^ Tel. ed. omits * for a cow' and ' of cows '; cf. Mahdbhdrata, 3. 11 5-1 16. 
"^ Tel. ed. omits this sentence. ^ See Mahdbhdrata, i. loo-ioi. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' thus, therefore, no one in the world is immaculate.' 

* Tel. ed. , * filled with broad fish-scales pierced by the tips of the talons of the 
ospreys; mottled with the accumulated excrement of otters' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

6 Tel. ed., * much whitened.' ' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * exceedingly.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' with its tamdlas cooled by contact with quantities 
of drops.' 

^ Tel. ed. omits 'wild.' 

10 Tel. ed., ' with the earth on its banks crushed by the repose of mermen, bright with 
the rays of the sun, and tuneful with the humming of bees and with beautiful flocks of 
continually restless dhdrtardstra geese ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 
i* Tel. ed., ' with swarms of bees ' ; Srirangam text, ' humming of swarms of bees.' 
" Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * mighty.' i" Tel. ed., ' serpents.' 



133 VASAVADATTA 

the mass of the water of the ocean ,^ shaken by the right mobile 
wind ; like ^ a strip of slough cast by the serpent of the ocean ^ ; 
the mirror, as it were, of earth ; the crystal pavement, so to say, 
of Varuna.'* 

Then, having bathed and the like,^ he began to descend to the 
water ^ to abandon his body. Thereupon, while the sharks were 
kindly, the fish free from envy, the bees*^ not mean, [280] the 
tortoises affectionate,^ the crocodiles not cruel, the dolphins not 
terrible, (and) the Gangetic porpoises not murderous, there came 
a heavenly voice ^: 'Noble Kandarpaketu, again, at no long 
time, shall there be union of thee with thy beloved. Cease, 
therefore, from thy resolve to die ' ! Hearing this, he desisted 
from death,^*^ and eager to get food to sustain his body because of 
his desire of reunion with his beloved, he went along the shore of 
the mighty ocean.^^ Then Kandarpaketu ^^ passed considerable 
time wandering here and there, living on fruit and the like in the 
forest. 

Finally, after the lapse of several months,^ ^ came the rainy sea- 
son, with <conjoined deep rivers> as he who sings to the kdkall 
has a <continuous low note) ; [281] with dancing <peacocks> as the 
eventide has <Siva> dancing ; producing <much pen-reed grass> as 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * in the breakup of the water.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' like.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' a serpent going in the water of the ocean.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add 'with <nibies> as a lotus-grove has a <red colour) ; 
with <branches of corab as a forest district has <birds and branches of trees) ; with 
<mussels> as a coward has <fear> ; attended by many <pearls) as Visnu is attended by 
many <emancipated ascetics).' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'having performed all the duties of bathing and the like.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' water of the ocean.' 

■^ Tel. ed., ' shoals of fish ' ; the Srirangam text omits the phrase. 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * devoid of longing.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * there came a voice from heaven.' For other instances 
of intended suicide thus divinely prevented see Kddambarz, pp. 332-333, 569-570, 
Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. Ridding, pp. 133, 195, London, 1896). 

1° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * he desisted indeed from undertaking death.' 

11 Tel. ed. omits this clause ; Srirangam text, ' then he went to the forest along the 
shore, eager to get food to sustain his body because of his hope of reunion with his 
beloved.* 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' he.' 

^' Tel. ed., ' but finally, after the lapse of several days.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 133 

Kumara's peacock <bears Sarajanman> ^ ; quelling the <expanse of 
dust> as a great ^ ascetic quells the <tide of passion) ; with water- 
giving <hail> as an anchorite has a water-giving <pot> ; showing a 
wandering of many <ships> as the time of doom shows a wandering 
of many <suns> ; with icdtakas eager ^ because of the clouds) as an 
unmolested forest district has <exceedingly curious ^ gazelles) ; 
[28a] <giving joy to the husbandman) as Revati's tender hand 
<inspired courage in Balarama).* 

The slender lightning shone like the bejewelled ^ boat of Love 
in the sky that seemed to be a pleasure pool with a forest of blue 
lotuses which were the riven clouds ^ ; the dancing cord, as it 
were, of a Candala maiden who was the Laksmi ^ of the clouds ; 
[283] even as a garland ^ for the gate of the palace of the sky ; a 
row of nail marks upon the cloud, in all seeming, given for 
remembrance by the departing heat of day^; the jewelled ^'^ 
girdle strand, one might fancy, of a beauty of the sky ; the lovely 
clustering ^^ blossoms, so to say, of the coral-tree of heaven ; like 
to a begemmed stick ^^ for cleaning Rati's nails ; the jewelled 
shell, it might be termed,^^ of the God whose banner is of flowers.^* 
The cloud ^^ seemed to vomit forth, like a crane, what appeared 



1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' with <lofty pen-reed grass) as Kumara's peacock has 
csarajanman mounted upon it>.' 

' Tel. ei and Srirangam text omit ' great,' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' proud.' According to the conventions of Sanskrit 
literature, the cdtaka {Cuctdus vielatwhucus) is supposed to live only on the raindrops 
which it drinks. 

* Tel. ed. adds ' <loud-resounding> as the lord of Lanka [Ravana] had <Meghanada> ; 
<dark with clouds) as Vindhya is <intensely dark)' ; so also the Srirangam text, which 
adds * <with swollen clouds) as young women have <plump breasts).' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' golden and bejewelled.' 

6 Tel. ed., ' dark with a forest of riven blue lotuses ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 
' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' dark LaksmL' 

* TeL ed. and Srirangam text, 'jewelled garland.' 

^ Tel. ed., ' given, in all seeming, upon the breast of his sky spouse by her dark 
departing lover, the heat of day.' 

^° Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * beauteous.' 

11 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' clustering.' 

" Tel. ed., ' stone pick.' 

13 Tel. ed., ^ the jewelled lance, as it were, even as the pleasure staff ' ; Srirangam text, 
' the jewelled pleasure staff.' 

^* Kama. ^^ Teh ed. and Srirangam text, * the mass of clouds.' 



134 VASAVADATTA 

to be^ a series of ocean shells that had been drunk down too 
hastily.^ 

[284] The <rainy season>, even the <fate of rain>, played,^ as if 
with chessmen * coloured with lac, with yellow and green frogs ^ 
jumping in the black enclosures^ of the irrigated fields. The 
lightning gleamed like a streak of gold rubbed by the goldsmith 
bank of clouds on a seeming touchstone that was like a mass of 
lampblack"^ from the torch of the sun. The screw-pine was 
beauteous ^ as a saw of the Flower- Weaponed God to cut ^° the 
hearts of sundered (lovers). [285] The drops of water were as 
masses of dust shaken off by the violence of the wind from the 
cloud-tree that was cut by the saw of the slender quivering 
lightning.^^ The hailstones flashed like pearls ^^ from the necklaces 
of the brides of the several quarters (of the sky) ; as though they 
were masses of stars reduced to powder by contact with the cloud 
grinding-stone that was turned by the violence of the fierce wind ^^ ; 
handfuls of grain, so to say, of the setting forth of Him ^ whose 
banner is a fish, eager to conquer the threefold world.^* 

Straightway at the beginning ^^ of autumn, with its wagtails not 
lame^^ ; with the course of the herons unhampered ^"^ ; [386] with 



1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' what appeared to be.* 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * drunk in the impulse of excessive thirst.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'the dark lover of the clouds played with the lightning.* 
* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'dice' ; cf. Thomas, ' The Indian Game of Chess,' in 

ZDMG. 52. 271-272 ; 53. 364-365 ; Reinaud, Mimoire .... sur tinde .... d'aprh 
les dcrivains arabes, persans et chinois^ pp. 131-133, Paris, 1849 ; al-BIruni, India^ 
tr. Sachau, i. 183-185, London, 1888. 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' young frogs.' * Tel. ed. , ' gatherings.* 

"' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' on a touchstone of clouds blackened.' 

8 Tel. ed., ' the rough screw-pine shone ' ; Srirangam text, ' the screw-pine flower 
shone.' ^ Kama. 

^•^ Tel. ed., 'made to cut.* ^^ Tel. ed. omits this sentence. 

^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' masses of pearls.' 

12 Tel. ed., * whirling from the violence of the wind like masses of stars reduced to 
powder by contact with banks of clouds.* 

1* Tel. ed. adds * the new meadow seemed like an upper garment, marked with liquid 
lac, for the breast of Lady Earth with her cochineal. The maid-servant Rainy Season 
being departed after bathing the heroine Earth with water from the jars of the clouds, 
the maid-servant Autumn came, showing bright raiment * ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

1^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' very beginning.' 

16 Tel. ed., ' with its wagtails well.* " Tel. ed. omits this clause. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 135 

boughs ^ exceedingly noisy with skylarks ; with intensely bright 
dawn ; with flocks of wandering parrots in the fields of rice ; with 
flamingoes come as guests ^ ; with a sky whose brightness was 
that of the body of Kamsa's foe ^ ; with old clouds like goose- 
down * ; with the pleasure of dogs whose heat was intensified ; 
[387] with shoots of sweet sugar-cane^; with lakes possessed of 
the quintessence of the delightful sound of the herons ; with pools 
whose banks were dug up by the snouts of boars ; delighted by 
roots of beautiful ^ kaserus ; with startled catakas'^ ; causing joy* 
by the sweet sound of flocks of wandering matsyaputrikd birds ; 
with disdained kadambas) the foe of conches; with expanded 
lotuses; with clouds at intervals; [288] with unusually bright 
stars ; with a beautiful moon^ ; with unusually sweet water in the 
pools ^^ ; with flocks of motionless cranes swallowing shoals of 
flashing carp ^1 ; with multitudes of silent frogs ; with shrivelled 
serpents ; with rice ^^ yellow with golden particles ; with screaming 
ospreys ; with the air delightful with the perfume of fragrant 
white lotuses ; lovely with white lotuses ^^ ; charming 1* in the 
moonlight ^^ ; with moulting peacocks ^^ ; with murmuring /^d?^/- 
birds ; with dhdrtardstra geese ^'^ ; with herds of deer delighted by 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * boughs of the trees.' 

2 Tel. ed., 'with flamingoes entering fields of rice that had flocks of wandering 
parrots ' ; Srirangam text, * with fields of rice filled with the noise of wandering parrots.* 
' Namely, blue as Krsna. 

* Tel. ed., * with clouds glittering like flocks of geese.' 

5 Tel. ed., 'with the radiance of the moon intensified ; with shoots of sugar-cane, the 
joy of lovers ' ; Srirangam text, * with the radiance of the moon intensified ; with shoots 
of sugar-cane crushed by travellers.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * beautiful.' 
' Tel. ed., ' with startled cdtakas on the banks of pools dug up,* etc. 

® Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' causing joy expanded lotuses.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * with a moon that was the adornment of the west.* 
^° Tel. ed., * filled with sweet sap ' ; Srirangam text, * with exceedingly sweet water.* 
^^ Tel. ed., 'with rows of motionless vultures and cranes swallowing flashing carp* ; 
the Srirangam text also omits ' shoals.' 
^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' wheat and rice.' 

^5 Tel. ed., * lovely with white lotuses that were slightly opened by a wind charming 
with the perfiime of fragrant white lotuses ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 
^* Tel. ed. omits from here to ' Kandarpaketu.' 
1^ Srirangam text omits this phrase. 

1® Srirangam text, ' with peacocks whose tail feathers had fallen out.' 
w Srirangam text 'with delighted flT/^^ri'araf/m geese.' 



136 VASAVADATTA 

the songs ^ of happy ^ female guardians of the rice ; with dead 
j^utMkd'jasmmes ^ ; with faded Malabar jasmine-buds ; a kinsman 
to the bandhuka ; with beauty born ; putting to confusion the 
bow of Sutraman * ; with the ten quarters (of the sky) yellowed 
by masses ^ of the pollen of the smiling saffron ; [1^89] (and) with 
blossoming lotuses^; — (then) Kandarpaketu, wandering about, 
seeing a stone image, and saying with curiosity, frenzy, and the 
agitation of grief, *This is like my beloved,' touched it with his 
handJ 

Then she, simply being touched,^ again ^ assumed the form of 
Vasavadatta, leaving her stony state. Perceiving her, Kandar- 
paketu, as if plunged in a sea of nectar, asked her, embracing her 
long : ' Dear Vasavadatta, tell me what this is ' ! 

Being addressed, and sighing long and fervently, she began to 
tell ^^ : * " Having left his kingdom, alone, (and) like a common 
man,^^ my lord of great good fortune hath borne woe beyond word 
or thought for the sake of ill-fortuned me, the undeserving. 
[290] Now, very emaciated through fasting and the like, my lord 
maketh his food roots, fruits, and so forth " — thus thinking, I went 
a distance of some nalvas to look for fruit, seeing the trees of a 
grove.^^ And in an instant I perceived the camp of an army with 

1 Srirangam text, * by hearing the songs.' 2 Srirangam text omits * happy.' 

3 Srirangam text omits 'with dead . . . beauty born.' 

* Srirangam text, * ^atamakha ' ; in both cases Indra is meant. 
° Srirangam text omits ' masses.' 

« Srirangam text adds * a kinsman to the bandhuka.^ 

' Tel. ed. , * Kandarpaketu, wandering about here and there, (and) seeing a stone 
image, touched it with his hand ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. For instances of 
turning into stone in modern Indian folk-tales see Knowles, Folk-tales of Kashmir ^ 2 ed., 
pp. 191-196, 401-403 (and literature there cited), London, 1893 ; Frere, Old Deccan 
Days J 2 ed., pp. 77-78, London, 1 870 ; Natesa Sastri, Dravidian Nights, p. 85, Madras, 
1886; and for a touch restoring to life see Kddambari, p. 637, Bombay ed., 1890 (tr. 
Ridding, p. 206, London, 1896). Cf. also Gray, ' Literary Studies on the Sanskrit 
Novel,* in WZKM. 18. 53-54. The fortunes of Vasavadatta after leaving her home 
show, it should be noted, a blending of the Bluebeard (violated tabu) and Sleeping 
Beauty cycles of folk-tales. 

* Tel. ed., ' simply being seen.' ^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit * again.' 

^^ Tel. ed., * Kandarpaketu, embracing her tightly, asked : " Dear Vasavadatta, what 
is this" ? She replied ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 
^1 Tel. ed., * like a wanderer.' 
12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * "thou being distressed by thirst through fasting and 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 137 

its abodes of grass huts being hidden in clumps of trees ; its 
general's house being arranged ; [291] the (fodder) bags being 
put down ; its tents being begun ; the courtesans' quarters being 
set up ; with hundreds of neighs of horses being heard ; with 
hundreds of drum-skins being beaten for the halt ; with a place 
of sweet water being sought ; with multitudes of market flags 
being displayed. 

[2<^2] ' As I thought ; " Is this the host of my father come to 
search for me, or perchance (the army) of my lord " ?, the general 
of the army ran toward me, being informed of events by 
a scout."^ Then in like manner there ran up the Kirata general, 
who had gone out to hunt followed by an army.^ Immediately 
I thought : " If I inform my lord, then he, being alone, will be 
killed by these; [293] but if I do not inform him, then shall 
I be slain by them." 

* Even at the instant of my thought there arose ^ a battle of the 
two armies * as of two vultures eager for one quarry. Then — on 
the battle's threshing-floor, where the rays of the sun were 
removed^ by the shower-clouds of arrows from the hostile 
bows^; [294] with Vidyadharas wandering about, embracing 
their opportunities for brave warriors that had been tossed high 
by pairs of tusks of elephants skilled in deeds of battle "^ ; with 
countless circles of the bards of the gods gathering to witness the 



the like, I, awakening before thee at the end of sleep, will fetch fruit, roots, and so 
forth " — so thinking, I went just a nalva [400 cubits] into the forest to seek fruit and 
the like.' 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * then, as I suddenly saw the camp of an army hidden 
in a clump of trees and thought : " Is this my father's host come to fetch me or the 
host of my noble lord"? a Kirata general, informed of the news from afar by 
a scout, ran to me.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then in like manner, hearing this, there ran up 
another Kirata general, who had gone out to hunt accompanied by a similar army.' 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' then there arose,' omitting Vasavadatta's reflexions. 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit ' armies.' 
5 TeL ed., ' hidden.' 

* Tel. ed. omits * from the hostile bows ' ; Srirangam text omits ' hostile.' 

' Tel. ed., * with female Vidyadharas wandering about, embracing brave warriors 
that had been cloven by the edges of swords high uplifted by hands skilled in deeds of 
battle ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 



138 VASAVADATTA 

conflict^ ; with a welcome appearance caused by headless corpses 
of bodies occupied by Vetalas ^ ; greedy for the adornment,^ in 
a she-fiend's ear, of a mortar filled with the foot of an elephant 
that had been hacked off by the sword of a soldier * ; [^95] with 
laudations in the excessive din that arose ^; (and) with timid 
jackals ^ — the warriors drew at once the <lives> of their foes and 
the <strings> of their bows, paying no heed to the bodies as if 
they were lumps of flesh to be the prey of jackals,'^ or had been 
bitten by serpents.^ 

* The ^ mighty elephants were like <generous> donors that bear 
not^'^ meeting with «beggars», for they <shed ichor> and bore 
not ^° meeting with «arrows)^ ; like fortunate paramours adorned 
with <passion> and with golden «girdles:^, for they were adorned 
with <minium> and had golden «girths» ; like goodly gardens 
<beauteous with plantain-trees> and ^filled with birds:^, for they 
were <bright with banners) and were ^attended by elephants^ ; 
like nights ^^ adorned with garlands of <constellations>, for they 
had garlands of <pearls> ; like days with <blossoming flowers>, for 
they had dashing trunk-tipsX^^ [396] And ^^ the horses seemed 
like creatures bereft of sense ^* <abandoning patience>, for they 



1 Tel. ed., * with the circle at its doorway formed by the many feet of the bards of 
the gods that had come to witness the conflict.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit this clause. The Vetalas are a class of malevolent 
ghosts who animate corpses and haunt cemeteries. They often enter the body of 
a living man while his spirit is absent, or may even be spirits of the living which prefer 
to make their dwelling in corpses (cf. Croolce, Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of 
Northern India, 2 ed., i. 243-244, Westminster, 1896). 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * with the adornment.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' foot soldier,' the former adding ' with folk drawn by 
curiosity.' 

5 Tel. ed., ' with shouts of praise arising ' ; Srirangam text, ' with laudations in the 
words spoken by folk drawn by curiosity.' 

. s Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add 'with cowards destroyed; like a conqueror eager 
for combat.' 

'^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * she-jackals and jackals.' 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' or were wretched fragments of white leprosy.' 

» Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * there.' 1® Srirangam text omits 'not.' 

^^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' multitudes of nights.' 

^2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * like autumn days with <blossoming lotuses), for they 
had <sparkling drops of water>.' 

" Tel. ed, omits 'and.' " Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, 'like angry creatures.' 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 139 

deft the ground) ; like oceans adorned with <whirlpools> and 
with «billows», for they were adorned with <whorls (of hair)> 
and had «swift gaits»; like pleasure parks with (.dhdrtardstra 
%^^s€>, for they included the <mallikdksa breed); like noble 
houses charming with very new <furniture), for they were charm- 
ing with very new <harness) ^ ; like mines that have the <gems of 
the gods), for they had <curls (on their necks)) ; like the Lekhas 
that have <fortitude together with Indra), for they <sustained most 
mighty lords). ^ Long danced the headless corpse as if with joy 
at the thought : " I am released ^ from the ears that heard 
detraction of others, from the ey&s that beheld the rise of the evil 
and the fall of the good, and from the head that bowed un- 
worthily." * 

' Then spread the dust ^ born of battle, hiding the eye as if 
smiling; concealing the existence of the ear as if afraid of 
hearing calumny of another; [397] frenzied, as it were, being 
tossed by the motion of the wind ; a cause of grayness, so to 
speak, to the Apsarasas ; a cause of blindness, it might be termed, 
to the soldiers ; the darkness, in all seeming, of the evening of 
conflict ; fallen and cut off from its <family), as it were, since 
it was cut off from the <earth) ; resembling the doctrines of the 
adherents of the Mimamsa that conceal the <doctrines of the 
Jains), since it concealed the <sight of the quarters (of heaven) 
and the sky) ; like unto a good man clinging to <Visnu's feet), 
since it clung to the <zenith).^ One assumed an <agonising 

1 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * like potters' houses <containing very new pots>, for 
they <bore very new harness).' 

2 Tel. ed., 'like the Lekhas that <have increase with Indra>, for they included 
indravrddha steeds>; like drunkards <living in dramshops), for they were (adorned 
with defences) ' ; so the Srirangam text, except * like the Lekhas that have increase 
through the (weapons of Indra), for they had increase through {indrdyudha steeds).' 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * thank heaven ! I am released.' 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * and from the mouth that praised the unpraise- 
worthy.' 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * mass of dust.' 

^ Tel. ed. substitutes for the last two similes ' <going in the path of the constella- 
tions) as an evil prince <goes not in the path of a Ksatriya) ; with the appearance of 
thick smoke like a quarrel ; hiding diving creatures) as the quality of passion hides 
<truth> ; <high-raised> as an ill-bred man is <pufiFed up) ; hiding the path of the 



140 VASAVADATTA 

posture) as Rama <bound Ravana> ^ ; another ^ clove <hell> as 
Krsna ^ clove <Naraka> ; a third had <hearing, speech, and sight> 
destroyed as the textbook of the Buddhists <rejects tradition, 
precept, and doctrine); a fourth was <surrounded with corpses) as 
a heretical mendicant is <wrapped with matting)*; a fifth, fearing 
<utter defeat), plunged into the water ^ as Suyodhana, fearing the 
<breaking of his thigh), plunged into the water^; a sixth breathed 
for a long time on a couch of <pen-reed grass) as Bhisma^ 
breathed for a long time on a couch of <arrows) ; [298] a seventh 
<lost his strength) as Karna, terrified in every limb,"^ <released his 
spear).^ Then, with its banners destroyed, its standards tumbling, 
its fallen bows and chowries injured, and its swords slipping, the 
army met destruction.^ 

* Straightway ,^° when the ascetic whose hermitage that was had 
come with flowers and the like, and had learned of the event, 
I was cursed by him with the words : *' My hermitage hath been 
broken down because of thee ; therefore become stone '' ^^ ! [299] 
And gradually, perceiving poor me suffering much distress, he ^^ 

<constellations> as an evil man hides the path of the <good> ' ; similarly the Srirangam 
text. 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text omit this clause. 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * and straightway one.' 

3 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * Narayana ' ; for the allusion cf. Harivamia, 1 20. 

4 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * a fourth had his body <surrounded with corpses) as 
a heretical mendicant has his body <wrapped with matting> ; a fifth, <drunken>, fell like 
<Surapa> (Srirangam text, *the Brahman Surapa').' The details of the legend of 
Surapa are as yet unknown. 

5 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * water of a pool.* 

6 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * dying Bhisma.' 

' Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, *with his limbs terrified.' 

8 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add * another slew <them that caused shouting) as 
Raghu's scion [Rama] slew <Ravana>.' 

^ Tel. ed., * then, with impotent banners, with tumbling standards, and with the 
daggers of the soldiers of the armies bent, both entire armies mutually proceeded to 
slaughter ' ; similarly the Srirangam text. 

10 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' and then.' 

" Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, ' had learned of the event through his y5ga sight, 
being angered that " this my hermitage hath been broken down because of thee [Vasa- 
vadatta]," I was cursed with the words: " Become a stone image " ! ' The folk-tale 
motif IS that of the Bluebeard cycle of punishment in consequence of a violation of tabu 
(see MacCuUoch, Childhood of Fiction, pp. 306-324, London, 1905). 

12 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * then gradually, out of kindness,-— *' for this unhappy 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 141 

made the termination of the curse concurrent with the touch of 
the hand of my noble lord.' 

Then Kandarpaketu, together with Makaranda, who^ had 
come up, and with Vasavadatta,^ [300] went to his own city,^ 
and lived * enjoying blisses as his heart desired.-^ 

girl suffers much distress" — and through pity for my noble lord, this hermit, being 
entreated.' 

^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' who had heard of the event.' 

2 Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * that Vasavadatta.' 

3 Tel. ed. adds ^ Patallputra,' which was, however, the old home of Vasavadatta, not 
of Kandarpaketu (see above, p. 75). 

* Tel. ed. and Srirangam text, * lived much time with them twain.' 
^ Tel. ed. and Srirangam text add ' (and) that could scarcely be gained in the world 
of the gods.' Tel. ed. also adds two stanzas, the first being the thirteenth of Hall's 
introductory stanzas, and the second being the eleventh introductory stanza of the 
Harscuarita ', the Srirangam text omits the latter interpolation, but here appends the 
thirteenth introductory stanza of Hall. 



— — 111 



3: 



m 













:i^ 







___ 



»^ 



^ubham astu 



i^rimannikhilasuremdradivamditapadakamala- 

srivagdevldattavaraprasadena 

subamdhunamna kavikulasarvabhaumena 

viracitah vasavadattakhyah campuprabamdho 'yam 



dhlmatam arthaparijilanaya 
vyakhyanena sakam 



madhurasubbhasastrina sam^odhyapariskrtah 
jfianasuryodayamudraksara^alayam 



tadadhikarina bhuvanagiri ramgayyasettinamna 

vaisyacudamanina mudraksarair 

mudrayitva prakatikrtas san 

bhuvivijayatetaram 



1862 samvatsaram yepral nela 19 tedi 



srihayagrivaya namah. 
vasavadatta savyakhya. 

(i) [jz] karabadarasadrsam akhilam bhuvanatalam yatprasa- 

datah kavayah 
pasyanti suksmamatayas sa jayati sarasvati devi. 
khinno 'si mumca sailam bibhrmo vayam iti vadatsu 

sithilabhujah 
bharabhugnavi(tatha)bahusu gopesu hasan harir jayati. 

[4] sa jayati himakaralekha cakasti yasyo 'mayo 't(kaya) 
nihita 

nayanapradipakajjalajighrksaya rajatasuktir i(2)va. 
[3] kathinataradamavestanalekhasamdehadayind yasya 

rajanti valivibhangas sa patu damodar5 bhavatah. 

[4] bhavati subhagatvam adhikam vistaritaparagunasya 
sujanasya 
vahati vikasitakumud5 dvigunarucim himakar(ad)yotah. 

[5] visadharato 'py ativisamah khala iti na mrsa vadamti 
vidvamsah 
yad ayan nakuladvesi sakuladvesi punah (punah) pisunah. 

[6] atimaline kartavye bhavati khalanam atlva nipuna dhih 
timire hi kausikanam rupam pratipadyate (drstih). 

[7] hasta iva bhutimalino yatha yatha lamghayati khalas 
sujanam 
darpanam iva tarn kurute tatha tatha nirmalacchayam. 

[6] vidhvastaparagunanam bhavati khalanam ativa mali- 
natvam 
antaritasasirucam api salilamucam malinima 'bhya- 
dhikah. 

[7] sa rasavatta vihata navaka (3) vilasamti carati no kam 
kah 
sarasT Va kirtisesam gatavati bhuvi vikramaditye. 
L 



146 VASAVADATTA 

[8] aviditaguna "pi satkavi(phanitih) karnesu vamati ma- 
dhudharam 
anadhigataparimala "pi hi harati drsam malatimala. 
guninam api nijarupapratipattih parata eva sambhavati 
svamahimadarsanam aksn5r mukuratale jayate yasmat. 

[9] [sarasvatidattavaraprasadas cakre subandhuh sujanaika- 
bandhuh 
pratyaksaraslesamayaprabandhaviny asavaid agdhyani- 
dhir nibandham]. 

[10] abhud (akharvavibhava) sarvorvipaticakra [caru] cuda - 
mani(sreni)sana[i i]k6nakasana(vi)malikrta(pada)nakhamanih nr- 
simha iva da(4)rsitahiranyakasipuksetradanavismayah krsna iva 
krtavasudevatarpanah [lij] narayana iva saukaryasamasadita- 
(dharani)mandalah kamsaratir iva janitayasodanandasamrddhih 
anakadundubhir iva krtakavya[i3]darah sagarasayi "va 'nanta- 
bh6gicudamani(sreni)railjitapada(h)[padmo] varuna iva "sa(5)n- 
taraksanah agastya iva daksina^aprasadhakah jalanidhir iva 
vahinisatanayakas samakarapracaras ca hara [14] iva mahasen- 
anu(yato nirjita^)maras ca merur iva vibudhalayo visvakarmas- 
rayas ca ravir iva ksanadanapriyas chayasantapaharas ca kusum- 
(ayudha) iva janitaniruddhasampad ratisukhapradas ca vidya- 
dha[i5]ro ^pi sumanah dhrtarastrd 'pi gunapriyah (6) ksamanu- 
gato 'pi [16] sudharmasritah ^ brhannalanubhavd 'py amtassara- 
lah mahisisambha[i7]v5 'pi vrs5tpadi ataral5 'pi mahanayakah 
raja cintamanir nama. yatra ca sasati (dharani ^)mamdalam 
chalanigrahaprayogo (nyayasastresu *) [18] nastikata carvakesu 
kantakay6g5 [ni]yogesu panvado [19] vinasu khalasam(pra)y6- 
gas salisu dvijihvasam(grahitir ahi)tundikesu karacchedah (kut- 
mala)grahanesu netrotpatanam muninam (7) [dvija]rajaviru[2o]d- 
dhata pamkajanam sarvabhaumayogo (diggajanam ^) [agnitula- 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G, H, and the commentator Narasimha. 
^ Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed., dirayah. 
' Tel. ed. 61, Grantha ed., and Srirangam text, dhardm. 
^ Cf. ndiydyikavddesu in Hall's manuscript F ; Trichinopoly ed., nydyesu. 
5 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and the commentator 
Jagaddhara. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 147 

suddhih suvarnanam] (suci)bhedo maninam ^ulabhamg5 yuvati- 
(navaprasavesu agnitulasuddhis svarnanam) dussasana[:zi]darsa- 
nam (maha)bharate karapatra(vi)daranam jalajanam (param evam 
vyavasthitam). mahavaraho gotroddharanapravrtto 'pi gdtrodda- 
lanam akarot. raghavah pariharann api janakabhuvam janaka- 
bhuva saha vanam vivesa. bharat5 (rama)darsitabha[!^2]ktir api 
rajye viramam akarot. nalasya damayantya militasya 'pi punar- 
bhuparigra(8)ho jatah. prthur api gotrasamutsaranavistaritabhu- 
mandalah. (tad) ittham na 'sti vagavasarah (purvatanesu ^) rajasu 
(api tu vacaniyatayah). sa punar anyo [eva] dev5 nyakkrtasar- 
vorvIpati(cakra)caritah. tathahi sa parvatah katakasamcarino 
gandharvan darsitasrmgonnatis sukha[f23]yan na virarama. sa hi- 
malayo navasyay6cchalit5 no mayajanmane hita^ ca. sa himani 
giri sthito vrsadhvajas (ca). (9) (sa) sadagatis (ca) 'vadhutakhila- 
kantarah pavakagresaro na [34] bhogotsukas sumanoharas ca. 
sa ratnakar5 'na(timayo) [katham aj'gadhas sama(io)ryadah 
nodr5ko ['py asya] vismayas sada himakar(a[25]say6) 'mrta- 
mayas (satpatras) tasya 'calo nakro 'dho mahanadinas samudras 
(ca). [26] sa [candra iva] ksanadanamdakarah kumudavan(ai- 
ka)bamdhus sakalakalakulagrham nataratibalas (camdras ca. sa) 
mitrddayahetuh kamcanasobham bibhrada[!27]caladhikalaksmi- 
(ii)s sumeruh [iva]. yasya ca ripuvargas sadapartho 'pi na ma- 
habharataranayogyah bhlsmd 'py asamtanavehitah sanucaro 
'pi na gotrabhusitah. (12) [28] [api ca] sa trisamkur (api) na 
(na)ksatrapatha(cyutah) samkaro 'pi na visadi pavak5 'pi na 
krsnavartma (na) "srayaso ['pi] na dahanas (ca) na 'mtaka [29] 
iva 'kasmad apahrtajivanah na rahur iva mitramamdalagrahana- 
(sam)vardhitarucih na nala iva kalivi(jitavigrahah) na cakri "va 
srgalavadhastutisamullasitah namdagopa iva yasodaya ('nvitah ^) 
jarasamdha iva ghatitasamdhivigrahah bhargava iva sadana- 
bhogah dasaratha [30] iva sumitr5petah sumamtradhisthitas 
ca dilipa iva sudaksinan(vitah ^) raksita(i3)gus ca rama iva jani- 
takusalavay5rupocchrayah. tasya ca (rajnah) parijata iva "srita- 

1 Trichinopoly ed. and Srirangam \.ty±, piirvataresu. 

"^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, E, F, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 

3 Cf. anugato in Hall's manuscript C. 

L 2 



148 VASAVADATTA 

namdanah himalaya iva jani[3i]tasivah mamdara iva bhdgi- 
bhogamkitah kailasa iva mahesvardpabhuktakotih madhur iva 
nanaramanamdakarah ksir5damathan6dya[3ij]tamamdara iva 
mukharitabhuvanah raga(i4)(raja) iv5 'l(lasita)ratih isanabhuti- 
samcaya iva samdhyocchalitah saranmegha iva Vadatahrdayah 
LSSli visnupadavalambi ca partha iva samarasahasocitah kamsa 
iva [34] kuvalayapida(bhusanah) tarksya iva [vinatanandakarah] 
sumukhanamdana(h) [ca] visnur iva krodikrtasutanuh samtanava 
iva svavasa[sthapita]kala[35]dharmah kauravavyu(i5)ha iva su- 
sarmadhisthitah [subahur iva ramanandi samadrstir api mahe- 
svaro muktamayo 'py ataralamadhyo] jala(dharasamaya) iva [36] 
vimalataravaridharatrasitarajahamsa(mamdalah ^ subahur api ra- 
manamdakarah samadrstir api mahesvarah muktamayo 'py 
ataralamadhyah) vamsa[pra]dipo 'py aksatadasah tanayo ('bhut) 
kamdarpaketur nama. yena [ca] camdrene 'va sakalakalakula- 
grhena sarvaritiharina [37] (kairavavi)bamdhuna prasadhitasena 
viloki(i6)ta jaladhaya iva (sam)ullasitag6tras sudura[vi 2]vardhi- 
tajivanah prasannasatvas [38] samtah param (rddhim) avapuh. 
yasya [ca] janitaniruddhalilasya ratipriyasya kusumasarasanasya 
makaraketor iva darsanena vanitajanasya hrdayam ullalasa. 
yasmai ca 'nugatadaksinasadagataye (netra ^)srutisukha(pradaya) 
komalakokilarutaya vi(kasita)pallavaya krtaka[39]mtarataram- 
gaya surabhisumanobhiramaya sarva[jana]sulabhapadmaya vi- 
(strta*)kana(T7)kasampade atikramtadamanakaya vasamtaye V5 
('pa)vana[4o]lata ivo 'tkalikasahasrasamkula bhramarasamgatah 
pravalaharinyo vilasadvayasas tarunyah sprhayam cakruh. yasya 
ca samarabhuvi [41] bhujadamdena kodamdam kodamdena (ba- 
nah banair) arisirah (arisirasa) bhumandalam (bhumandalena) 
'nubhuta(purvanayakasmaranam smaranena ca) kirtih kirtya ca 
sapta sagarah sagaraih krtayugadiraja[carita]smaranam (smara- 
nena) sthairyam (sthairyena) pratiksanam ascaryam asaditam. 



^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, E, F, G, H, and the commentator Narasimha. 

2 Hall's manuscripts B, C, D, G, H also omit vt; Trichinopoly ed., parivardhita. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, H, and the commentators Narasimha 
and Jagaddhara. 

'^ Cf. viskria in Hall's manuscript D. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 149 

yasya ca pratapanaladagdha(dayitanam) ripusumdarinam kara- 
tala(racita)tadanabhitai[42]r iva muktaharaih payodhara(parisara 
muktah). yasya ca nisitanaraca(jarjharita)mattamatamgakum- 
bhasthalavigalitamuktaphala[nikara ^jdamturitaparisare (tarat 2)- 
patrara(i 8)the raktavari(samuddlyamanadviradapadakacchape ^ 
vilasad)utpala(pumdarike) vahinisatasamakule nrtyatkabamdha- 
(bamdhure) sura (nan) [43]samagam6tsuka(carad)bhat(ahum)kara- 
(bhasanarava)bhisane (sagara iva samarasirasi *) bhinnapadatika- 
rituragarudhir(ardro) jayalaksmipadalaktakaragaramjita iva 
khadgo raraja. [44] atha kadacid avasannayam yamavatyam 
dadhi(dhava!a)kalaksapanaka[grasa]pimda ^ iva nisayamunaphe- 
na(stabaka ^) iva menakanakhamarjana(sphatika)silasakala iva 
madhucchatrac(chaya)mamdal6dare pascimacalopadhanasukha- 
ni(sanna)siras5 rajatatatamka(cakra '^) iva (syamayah) sesamadhu- 
bhaji [45] casaka iva vibhavarivadhvah aparajala(ni)dhipayasi 
samkhakamtikamuka iva majjati kumudininayake sisira(himasi- 
kara)kardamita(i9)kumuda(paraga ^)madhyabaddhacaranesu sat- 
caranesu kalapralapab6dhit[acakit]abhisarikasu sarikasu prabud- 
dhadhyayanakarmathesu mathesu (hasa)ragamukharakarpatik[a- 
jan^]opagIyamanakavya(kathyasu) rathyasu [46] sakalanipita- 
(naisa)timira(samghatam ^^) ataniyastaya (sodhum ^^) asamarthesv 
iva kajjalavyajad udvamat(su) [iva] kami(ni)nidhuvanallladarsa- 
nartham ivo 'dgrlvikasatadanakhinnesu vividha(vilasacitrasurata)- 
[47]saksisu saranagatam iva 'dho(ni)linam timira(samgham) 
avatsu durjana(vacanesv) iva dagdhasnehataya mamdimanam 
upagatesu ativrddhesv iva dasamtam upagatesu (a)pannasadlsva- 

^ Hall's manuscripts C, D, F, H also omit nikara. 
2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, H. 

2 Hall's manuscripts C, E also have kacchape and manuscript A has kacchapa. 
* Hall's manuscript C also has samarasirasi \ cf. samarasarasi in his manuscripts 
A,B,E. 

5 Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ^^., pindaka. 

6 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 
' So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and the commentator 
Jagaddhara. 

9 Hall's manuscripts D, F, H, and the commentator Narasimha also omit jana. 
1° So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, H, and the commentator Narasimha. 
^1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, E, F, G, H. 



I50 VASAVADATTA 

resv iva patramatravasesesu danavesv iva [48] nisamtamadhya- 
carisu astagirisikharesv iva patatpatamgesu pradipesu anavara- 
ta(nipatita) makaramdabimdu(!?o)samdoh (asvadamadamugdha ^ )- 
madhukaranikurumba^j hamkara(rava)mukharitesu mlanimanam 
upagacchatsu vasagarakusumopaha[49]resu vigalatkumdair ala- 
kaih pnya(tama)virahas6kat baspabimdun [iva] (visrjadbhir ^ 
iva) priyatamagamanani(rodham) iva (kurvadbhir * vacalita)tula- 
kotibhis caranapallavaih (vilasitasu ^ rajani)sesasurata[bhara ^]- 
parisramavi [50] galitakesapasadaradalita (madhavl) malaparimala- 
lubdhamadhukarani (kurumba '^) paksanila[ni]pitanidaghajalaslka- 
ra(kanikasu) udvellatbhuja(valli)kamkanajhariatkara(subhagasu^) 
[navajnakhapada (dasta ^)kesa ( pasa^^^vi) nirm6ka[5 1 Jvedanakrtasi- 
tkaravinirgatadugdhamugdhadasanakirana [ cchata ] dhavalitabho- 
gavasasu punardarsanaprcchavidhurasakhijananuksanaviksya- 
manapriyatamasu ksanadagata(surata)vaiyatyavacana[sata](sam- 
skaraka i^)grhasukacatuvyahrtiksanajanitamamdaksasu saradva- 
saralaksmisv iva [52] nakhalamkrtapayodharasu asannamaranasv 
iva jivite^apurabhimukhl(2i)su vasamtavanarajisv ivo 'tkalika- 
bahulasu priyair alimgyamanasu kaminisu amdoHtakusumake- 
sare kesarenumusi [^^1 (rati)ranita(nupura i^)maninam ramaninam 
vikacakumudakare mudakare samgabhaji priyavirahitasu rahitasu 
(virahitasu) sukhena murmura(curnam) iva [varsati] samamtadar- 
pake darpakesudahanasya duraprasaritakoka[54]priyatamarute 
marute vahati jaghanamadana(nagarat5ranasraja manmatha^^)ma- 

1 Hall's manuscripts B, C, D, E, F, G, H also have mughda. 

2 Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., nikuramba, 

3 Cf. utsrjadbhir iva in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, H. 
* So also Hall's manuscripts D, F, H. 

5 Trichinopoly ed., vdcdlatuldkotibhih caranapallavaih priyatamagamananirodham 
iva kurvatisu. 

^ Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, F, H also omit bhara. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G, H. 

8 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H also have subhagdsu. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, C, D, E, F, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara 
and Narasimha. 

I*' So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, G, and the commentator Narasirnha. 

^^ Cf. samsmdraka in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and the commentator 
Jagaddhara. 

^2 So also Hall's manuscript D and the commentator Narasimha. 

^2 Cf. manmathamandiramahd'^ in Hall's manuscripts A, B, G. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 151 

hanidhi(jaghanakosamamdira)kanakaprakarena r5ma(lirupa)lata- 
lavala(valayena) jaghanacamdramamdalaparivesena (vitata)tn- 
bhuvanavijayaprasasti(varna^pamkti)kanakapatrena (makarake- 
toh) sakalahrdaya(bamdijana)nivasa(grha)pankhavalayena (:32) 
(sakala)jaga[55]llocanavihamgama(jaghanavasa)lasaka(kanaka2)- 
salakagunena [iva] (nava)mekhaladamnapan(kalita)jaghana(stha- 
1am ^) unnatapay5dharabharamtaritamukhacamdradarsanaprap- 
ti(vedanaye) "va guru(tara)nitambabimbapay5dharakumbha(ni- 
ruddhobhayaparsva '*)pidajanitayasene "va (mama murdhni sthi- 
tayor anayor iyatpramanayo stanakalasayoh katham mayye "va 
pato bhavisyati 'ti cimtaye "va grhitagurukalatranusayene "va 
vidhatur atipida[56]yato hastapasajanitayasene "va) ksinataratam 
upagatena madhyabhagena lamkrtam anuragaratna(purita)ka- 
naka(paruvakabhyam) cucukamudrasanathabhyam [atigurupari- 
nahataya patanabhayat kilitabhyam iva cucukacchalena] (vidhina) 
girisare(ne "va cucukacchalena 'tiguruparinahataya patanabhaya- 
kilitabhyam iva hrcchayavilepanacaturikavibhramabhyam) saka- 
[57]lavayava(nirmiti)sesalavanyapumjabhyam iva [hrdayatataga- 
kamalabhyam iva hrcchayakap5lacaturikavibhramabhyam] ro- 
mavalilataphala(bhuta)bhyam kamdarpa(darpakasila)curnapur- 
na(kanaka^(23)kalasabhyam iva hrdayatatakakamalamukula- 
bhyam romalataphalabhutabhyam ^ haralatamrnalal5bha[58]ni- 
linacakravakabhyam haralataromavallgamgayamunasamgama- 
vyajaprayagatatabhyam asesajanahrdayapatanad iva samjata- 
gauravabhyam) tribhuvanavijayaparisramakhinnasya makarake- 
tor (visrama)vijan(avasa)grhabhyam payodharabhyam samud- 
bhasamanam mukhacamdra(satata "^jsannihitasamdhyaragena 
(dvija ^)maniraksasimduramudranukarina [59] nis(sarada 'bhyam- 

1 Cf. varnaromdvali in Hall's manuscripts A, G ; and rofuavarndvalt in manuscripts 
B,E,F. 

2 So also Hall's manuscript C. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and the commentators 
Jagaddhara and Narasimha. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts B, F, G, H. ^ Trichinopoly ed. omits kanaka. 

^ Trichinopoly ed. omits ro?nalatdphalabhutdbkydm. 

■^ Cf. hitasantata in Hall's manuscripts A, C, F, G ; and hitasatata in manuscript D. 
8 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara 
and Narasimha. 



152 VASAVADATTA 

tara)ragene 'va ramjitena ragasagaravidruma(sakalene ^) 'va *dha- 
rapallavena [upajsobhamanam taruna(kaitaka)daladraghiyasa 
paksmalacatulalasena hrday{avasa)grhavasthitahrcchayavilasin5 
gavaksasamkam (uj)janayata saragena 'pi nirvanam [60] (jana- 
yata^) gatiprasara(ni)r6dhakasravanakrta(kr6dhene) Va ('pam- 
ga)l6hitena dhavalayate Va jagada(khilam) utphullakamalaka- 
nanasanatham iva gagana(talam) kurvata dugdhambhddhisaha- 
srani V5'dvamatakumda(kusumanilinam) utpalamala(m) [laksmim 
ivo] upahasata nayanayugalena bhusitam dasanaratnatula(ru[6i]- 
mdene) Va nayan(amrtasimdhu)setubamdhene (Va) yauvanaman- 
mathamattavarana(paramdakene) Va nasavamsena pariskrtam 
vil5cana(kuvalaya ^)bhramarapanktibhyam mukhamadanamam- 
dirat5rana(malika(24)bhyam) ragasagara(venikabhyam *) yauva- 
nanartakalasikabhyam bhrulatabhyam vi(rajitam^) ghanasama- 
[6iz]yakasalaksmim ivo 'llasad(dhara)payodharam jaya[sabda]- 
gh6sana^panna(narapati)murtim ivo 'llasattulakotipratisthitam 
suyodhanadhrtim iva karnavisramtalocanam vamanalilam iva 
darsitabalibhamgam vrscikarasiravisthitim iva 'tikramtakanya- 
tulam usam iva 'niru[63]ddhadarsanasukham sacim iva namda- 
neksanarucim pasupatitamdavalilam ivo ''llasaccaksussravasam 
(virndhya)tavim ivo 'ttumgasyamalaku(25)cam vanara[64]senam 
iva sugiivamgada[upa]s6bhitam bhasvatalamkarena (svetarocisa 
smitena'^) lohitena ('dharena^) saumyena darsanena guruna ni- 
tambabimbena (sitena harena^) sanaiscarena padena [tamasa 
kesapasena ^^] (vikacena locanotpalena 1^) graha(mayam) iva sam- 
sarabhitticitra[65]lekham iva trailokya(ramgasya) rasayanasi- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, H, and the commentator Narasimha. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H, and the commentator Narasimha. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara 
and Narasirnha, 

■ 5 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and the commentator Narasimha. 
6 a. jayaghosa in Hall's manuscripts C, D, F. 

"^ Hall's manuscripts C, D, and the commentator Narasimha add this after the next 
phrase. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 

^ Similarly also Hall's manuscripts C, D, and the commentator Narasimha. 
^° Hall's manuscripts B, C, E, F, G also omit tamasa kesapasena. 
11 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G, H. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 153 

ddhim iva (yauvanasya) samkalpa(vrttim ^) iva srmgarasya (sam- 
ketabhumim iva lavanyasya) nidhanam iva [66] kautukasya 
[tribhuvana ^]vijayapatakam iva makaradhvajasya (ajibhumim) 
iva [manaso 'bhibhutim iva] madanasya (sammohinim) iva (sarv)- 
emdriyanam mohanasaktim iva (madanasya) viharasthalim iva 
saumdaryasya (mitravilasalaya)salam iva saubhagyasya [utpat- 
tisthanam iva lavanyasya] aka[67]rsana(mamtra^)siddhim iva 
(manasijasya) caksurbamdha(namahausadhim *) iva manma- 
themdrajalinah tribhuvanavilobhanasrstim iva prajapateh [kan- 
yakam] astadasavarsadesiyam ^ (kanyam) apasyat ^ svapne. 
atha tarn piitivispharitena caksusa pibann iva janitersyaye Va 
nidraya cirasevitaya "^ (sa) mumuce. (atha sa prabuddhas ^) tu 
visasarasi Va durja[68]navacasi Va (26) nimagnam atmanam 
(ava)dharayitum na sasaka. tathahi ksanam (akase tadalimga- 
nartham) prasaritabahuyugalah ehy ehi priyatame (ma gaccha 
ma gacche ^) 'ti diksu (vidiksu ^° ca vi)likhitam iv5 'tkirnam iva 
caksusi nikhatam iva hrdaye priyatamam ajuhava. tatas tatrai 
"va sayyatale (nillno ^^) nisiddhasesaparijan5 datta(kavatah) pa- 
ri[69]hrtatambuia[hara]disakal5pabhogas tarn (divasam) anayat. 
tathai "va nisam api svapnasamagamecchaya (katham apy) anai- 
sit. atha tasya priyasakho makaramdo nama katham api lab- 
dhapravesa(darsanah) kamdarpasayakapraharaparavasam kam- 
darpaketum uvaca. sakhe kim i[7o]dam asampratam asadhu- 
janocitam (acaram) asrito 'si. tavai "tad[cantam] alokya vitarka- 
(dolasu) nivasamti samtah. khalah punas (tvadanucitam anistam 
acaram acaramti). anist(6tpadana)ras6ttaram hi (bhavati ^^) kha- 
lahrdayam. ko nama 'sya tattvanirOpane samarthah. tatha hi 
bhimo 'pi nabakadvesi asrayaso 'pi matarisva ati(katu[7i]k5) 'pi 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, H. 

2 Hall's manuscripts C, D, H also omit tribhuvana. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, D, F, G, H. 

^ Cf. bandhamahdusadhlm in Hall's manuscripts C, D, G, H. 
° Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed., varsTydm. 

^ Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed., dadarsa. '^ Trichinopoly ed., ciram sevitayd, 

8 So also Hall's manuscript D. ^ So also Hall's manuscript D. 

10 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, E, F, G, H. 
^^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E. 
^2 Cf. khalahrdayam bhavati in Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, H. 



154 VASAVADATTA 

maharasah sarsapasneha iva kara(yuga)lalito 'pi sirasa dhrto 'pi 
na (katavam ^) jahati. talaphalarasa iva "pata(27)madhurah (pari- 
name) virasas tiktas ca (padaraja) iva 'vadhuto ('pi ^) murdhanam 
kasayayati. visataru(prasunam) iva yatha yatha 'nubhuyate 
tatha tatha m5ha[7i3]m eva (drdhayati. nicadesanadya iva na 
variviraho 'sya jayate). nidaghadivasa iva bahumatsaras (suma- 
nasam samtapam ^) vahati. amdhakara iva dosanubamdhaca- 
turah visvakarmavalopanodyatas ca (rudra iva) virupaksah [73] 
(visnur iva) cakradharah sakrasva ivo 'ccaissravah nadesajapra- 
samsi ca (sa)sarasye Va [vijbhinnasya * 'pi (satatam) sneham dar- 
sa(i^8)yato 'pi takrata iva hrdayam [74] viladayati. yaksabalir 
iva "tmaghosamukharo mamdala(bhramanakas) ca [matta]ma- 
tamga iva svavasalolamukh5 'dharikrtadanas ca vrsabha iva 
surabhiyanavikalah kami 'va g6traskhalanavi(kalo) vamadhva- 
[75]nuraktas ca [a]jirna(r6ga ^) iva kalebare vacasi mamdimanam 
(ud) vahati. vamcaka iva (raktah katapale) vibhavariraktas ca 
pare(29)ta iva [76] bamdhutapadarsanah parasur iva bhadras- 
riyam api khamdayati. kuddala iva dalitagotrah ksamabhajah 
praninas (ca) nikrntati. (rati)[77]kila iva jaghanyakarmalagno 
hrepayati sadhun. dustasurpasrutir iva kananarucir anugatam 
api yavasam (san)tatam na 'numodate. abi[78]jad eva jayamte 
akamdat ^ [eva] prarohamti khalavyasanamkura duruccheda(3o)s 
(ca ^) bhavamti. asatam [hi] hrdi pravist5 dosalavah karalayate 
satam tu (hrdayam) na (pra ^)visaty eva yadi (katham api ^ pra-) 
visati [79] (tada^^) parada iva (ksanam ^^) api na (tisthati ^^). mrga 
iva vinodavimdos (sramaga^^ bhavamti sadhavah). siikham jana 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, F, H. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G. 
* So also Hall's manuscript D. 

5 So also Trichinopoly ed. and Srirangam text; Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., 
a/Trnaroga. 

6 Cf. akdiiddt prasaranti in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G. 

' So also Hall's manuscript D. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, F, G. 

9 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

10 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, F, G, H. 

11 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

12 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G, H. 

13 So also Hall's manuscript D, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 155 

(hi bhavadrsas) saratsamaya iva [bhavaddrsa mitrasya hrdayam^] 
haramti na ca (mitra)cetana visadrsam upadisamti. acetananam 
api maitri samucitapakse niksipta [tatha[8o]hi] madhuryasai- 
tyasucitvasamtapasamtibhih payah paya (iti^ sabdasamyan) 
mitratam upagatasya (mat)samgamad " (vrddhim upagatasya 
ksirasya kvathe * purato mamai "va ksay5 yukta) iti (matve) Va 
varina ["pi] ksiyate. tad idam asampratam acaritam [sakhe] 
grhana sadhujanocitam adhvanam. sa[8i]dhavo ('pi) dinmohad 
[param] utpathapravrtta (api punar grhltasatpatha ^) bhavamti. 
ityadi vadati tasmin (makaramde priyasakhe) katham api sma- 
rasara[nikara]praharaparavasah (kamdarpaketuh) parimitaksa- 
ram uvaca. vayasya ditir iva satamanyusamakula bhavaty 
(asmadrsajariacitta)vrttih na 'yam upadesakalah pacyam(3i)ta 
iva (me^) 'mgani [82] kvathyamta ive 'mdriyani [bhidyanta iva 
marmani] nissaramti Va pranah unmulyamta iva vivekah naste 
(Va '^) smrtih [tad] adhuna (tad alam anaya kathaya) yadi 
('ttham) sahapamsu(krIda)sama(sukhaduhkho) 'si (tan maya sa- 
mam agamyatam) ity uktva parijanalaksita (eva) tena sahai (Va 
puran ^) nirjagama. (tato 'neka)nalvasata(matram) adhvanam 
gatva (tena) 'gastyavacanasamhrta[83]brahmamda(khamda ^)- 
gatasikharasahasrah kamdaramtar[al]alata^^grha(prasupta^^)vi- 
dyadharamithunagitakarnanasukhitacamari (gana ^^) maranot (su- 
ka) sabara(kula)sambadhakaccha(tatah) kataka(tatagata)karika- 
rakrstabhagnasyamdania[84]naharicamdana(rasa)nrioda(gamdha)- 
vahigamdhavahasisiritasilatalah sudurapatanabhagnatalaphala- 



1 Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara also omit 
viitrasya hrdayam. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara and 
Narasimha. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, G, 

^ Cf. api punar grhitapathd in Hall's manuscript D. 

^ So also Hall's manuscript D. 

"^ So also Hall's manuscript D. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, H. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, C, G, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 
i** So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. 

^^ Cf. grhasukhaprasupta in Hall's manuscripts A, C, D, F, G and grhasupta in 
manuscript B. 
12 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, H. 



156 VASAVADATTA 

rasardrakaratalasvadanotsukasakhamrga ( kadambakah ^ ) pra- 
lambamananirj har(5pamtam) vista ^ jivam(jivaka) mithuna(lihya- 
mana)vividhaphala[85]rasam6da(gamdha)surabhitapansarah sa- 
rabhasakesarisahasrakharanakharadharavidaritamattama t a m g a - 
kumbhasthalavigalita(sthula)muktaphala(sabala^)sikharataya (si- 
kharava)lagnam taraganam ivo 'dvahan sugriva iva [86] rksaga- 
vayasarabhakesarikumuda(panasa *)sevyamanapadacchayah pa- 
supatir iva na(3:z)ganisvasasamutksiptabhutih janardana iva vi- 
(kaca)vanamalah sahasrakirana iva saptapatrasyamdanopetah vi- 
rupaksa iva [87] sannihitaguhah sivanugatas ca kami 'va kam^ 
tarosarasanugatah samadanas ca srlparvata iva sannihitamalli- 
karjunah naravahanadatta [88] iva priyamgusyamasanathah si- 
sur iva krtadhatrldhrtih vasararambha iva [gairika^]runaprabha- 
patalita(patra)vanarajih krsnapaksa iva bahulatagahanah karna 
iva 'nubhu(33)tasatakotidanah bhisma iva si[89]khamdimuktair 
ardhacamdrair acita(tanuh) kamasutravinyasa iva mallanaga- 
(ghatitakamtara)samodah hiranyakasipur iva sambarakulasrayah 
gairikavyajad{upari ^)ravirathamargamarganartham iva 'runen5 
'pasya[9o]manah sikharagatasuryacamdramastaya vistaritalo- 
can5 'gastyamargam ivo 'dviksamanah (kulisaksataramdhra)- 
sra(34)stamtra(nala'^) iva jaradajagarabhogaih kumbhakarna iva 
damtamtarala(gatair ^) vanara(vyuhaih^) pimda(lakta[9i]ka^ra- 
ktapada) panktisucitasam ( cara ) sacipativaravilasinisamketaketaki- 
mamdapah akulino 'pi sadvamsabhusitah darsitabhayo 'pi mrtyu- 
phala(daya) saprastho 'py aparimanah sanado 'pi nis[92]^abdah 
bhimo 'pi kicakasuhrt pihitambaro 'pi (vi)lasadamsukah vimdhyo 
{^5) nama [maha ^^]girir adrsyata. [93] yas ca pravrddhagulma- 
taya (rogi 'va) drsyamanabahudhatuvikarah. (yas ca) sadhur 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts D, H. 

2 Q{^ nirjharaHkhardpdntdpavista in Hall's manuscript D. 
^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, H. 
* So also Hall's manuscript D. 

5 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara and 
Narasimha also omit gdirika. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, G, H. 

' So also Hall's manuscripts C, E. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts D, E, G. 

^ Cf. pinddlaktakdhkita in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, G, H. 
i<^ Hall's manuscripts D, E, G, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara also omit mahd. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 157 

iva sanugrahapracaraprakatitamahima mimamsanyaya iva pihi- 
tadigambaradarsanah. yas ca harivamsair iva puskar(aksa)pra- 
durbhavarama[94]niyaih rasibhir iva mlna(makarakullramithu- 
na)samgataih karanair iva sakuninagabhadrabalavakul5petaih 
(^6) devakhatair upas5bhit(amtah^). yas ca kusumavicitrabhih 
vamsapatrapatitabhih sukumaralalitabhih puspi[95]tagrabhih 
(praharsinibhih sikharinibhih) latabhih darsitanekavrttavilasah. 
yas ca (samadakala^)hamsasarasarasit5dbhramt(5tkuta)vikata- 
(kumjakaccha)vyadhuta[vikaca]kamala(samda)galitamakaram- 
dabimdusamd5hasurabhitasalilaya sayamtana (samayamajjat ^ ) - 
pulimdarajasumdarl [96] (nimna) nabhimamdala(pari)pitasalila- 
ya[madamukhararajahamsakulakolahalamukharitakulapulinaya] 
tatanikata ( stTiitavikata * ) mattamatamgagamda (sthalavig a 1 a n ^ ) - 
madadhara(bimduprakara)stabakitasalilaya tiraprarudhaketaki- 
kanana(patitadhulinikurumbasamjata)saikatasukhopavistataruna- 
sura[9 7] mithunanidhuvanalilaparimalasaksikulopavanay a tata- 
(vatasthavighatitambh5ja^samda)mamdapavasthitajaladevata(vi)- 
gahyamana(payasa) tiraprarudhavetasa(vana'^)bhyamtara(ni^)lina- 
datyuha ( madotkatakeli ) [ 9 8 ] kuhakuharavakautukakrsta s u r a m i - 
thunasamstuyaman(6(37)pa ^)bhogaya upakulasamjata(nalina- 
pumja^^) kumjapumjita [kulaya]kukkutaghataghutkarabhairavatl- 
raya (atapasevasamutsuka)jalamanusimrditasukumara(tarapuli- 
naya) upavana(pavana)md6[99]litatarala(tara)taramgaya (nalinl)- 
nikumjapumjanivista(dusta^^bakota)kakutumbininiriksyamanavrd- 
dhasapharaya (pot6)dhanalubdhak5yastika(skambhana ^^)bhima- 

1 So also Hall's manuscript H, and the commentator Narasirnha. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, and the commentator Narasirnha. 

3 Cf. sdyantanasamayonmajjat in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G, and 
sdyantanasamaya7?iajjana in manuscript D, 

* Cf. tatanikatavikata in Hall's manuscripts B, D, F. 
5 Qi. gandanirgalita in Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, E, G. 

^ Cf. tatdvatavighatitajambu in Hall's manuscript D {vighatita also in manuscript 
F, ghatita in manuscript H). 

■^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, F. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G, H. 

9 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. E, F, G, H. 

10 Cf. kunjapunjaptinjita in Hall's manuscript D. 

11 Cf. nasta in Hall's manuscripts A, B, and dhrsta in manuscripts C, F ; Trichino- 
poly ed. omits dust a. 

^2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, E, F, G, and the commentator Narasirnha. 



158 VASAVADATTA 

vetasavana(lataya ^) [taralajtaramgamala ^sam(tarad)uddamda- 
(vala) da [ I oo] rsanadhavadat icapalaraj ilaraj i (raj it5^)pakulasali- 
laya (khamjarita *) mithuna(nidhuvana)darsanopajatanidhigraha- 
nakautukakirata[sa[ioi]ta]khanyamana(sthaputita)tiraya krud- 
dhaye Va darsitamukha[vi^]bhamgaya mattaye Va (skhalad^)ga- 
tya dinarambhalaksmye Va vardhamanavelaya bharatasamara- 
bhumye Va nrtyatkabamdhaya pravrse Va vijrmbhamanasata- 
(38)patrapihita[i02]visadharaya (sakamaye) Va krtabhubhrtse- 
vaya revaya priyatamaye Va prasarita(taramga)hastay6 'pagu- 
dhah. yas ca 

harikharanakharavidaritakumbhasthalavikalavaranadhvanair 
adya 'pi kumbhasambhavam (sam)ahvayatl Vo 'ccatalabhujah. 

(tatramtare) makaramdas tarn uvaca 

[103] pasy5 'damcadavamcadamcitavapuh (purvardhapascar- 
dha)bhak 
stabdhottanitaprsthanisthitamanagbhugnagralamgulabhrt 
damstrakotivisamkatasyakuharah kurvan satamutkatam 
(ut)kamthah kurute kramam karipatau krurakrtih kesari. 

api ca 

utkarno ^ya,m akamdacamdimapatus spharasphuratke- 

sarah 
krurakarakaralavaktra (kuharas) stabdhordhvalamgula - 

bhrt 

[104] (citre ca) 'pi na sakyate (vi)likhitum sarvamgasamk5ca- 
(bhak^) 
( phit) kurvadgirikumjakumjarasirah^kumbhasthalasthoha- 
rih. 

anamtaram nicadesanadye Va nyagrodhopacitaya uttarago(graha- 
na)[io5]bhumye Va vijrmbhamanabrhannalaya (kuru)desa(dhak- 

^ Trichinopoly ed., malayd. ^ go also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, H. 

3 So also Hall's manuscript E. * So also Hall's manuscripts C, F. 

s Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara and Nara- 
simha also omit vi. 

6 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, F. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H. 

^ Trichinopoly ed. and Srirangam text, brhat. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 159 

kaye^) Va ghana(39)sarasarthavahinya vidagdha[jana]madhu- 
[panajgosthye 'va nanavitapl[io6]tasavaya nalakubaracittavrttye 
'va satatadhrtarambhaya mattamatamgagatye 'va ghamtaravave- 
ditamargaya sadisvarasevaye (Va) durodgatabahuphalaya vira- 
talaksmye 'va "namditakicakasataya vimdhyatavya (katipayadu- 
ram adhvanam^)gatva kamina iva madanasalakarikitasya (vikarta- 
nasye 'va (40) snigdhacchayasya vaikumthasye 'va laksmibhrtah 
yatrodyatanrpater iva ghanapatrasobhitasya vedasye 'va bhuri- 
sakhalamkrtasya ganikyasye 'va 'nekapallavojjvalasya^) jam- 
buvrksasya ('dhas) chayayam (sa) visasrama. [107] atramtare 
bhagavan api maricimali atapaklamta(vana)mahisalocanapatala- 
mamdalas caramacala(sikharam) aruroha. tato makaramdah 
phalamulany adaya [katham] katham * api tarn abhinamditaha- 
ra(m)[paricayam] akarsit. svayam (api) tadupabhuktasesam 
(akarod asanam). atha tarn eva priyatamam hrdayaphalake 
(samkalpatulikaya) likhi[io8]tam iva ['va^Jlokayan nispamdakara- 
nagramah kamdarpaketur makaramda(viracite) pallavasayane 
susvapa. atha [ardhajyamamatravakhamditayam (yaminyam) 
[tatra] jambutarusikhare (mithah kalahayamanayds sukasarika- 
yoh) kalakalam srutva kamdarpaketur makaramdam uvaca. 
vayasya srnuvas tavad (anayor^) ala[i09]pam iti. tat5 (jam- 
bunikumjasthita^) sarika (kacit cirad agatarn sukarn"^) prako- 
pataralaksaram uvaca. kitava sarikamtaram anvisya [samajgato 
'si katham anyatha ratrir iyati tave 'ti. (atha) tac chrutva su- 
kas tarn avadlt. bhadre (mumca kopam^) apurva (brhat)katha 
(pratyaksikrta maya) tena 'yam kalatipata (iti). atha samupa- 
jatakutuha(4i)laya sarikaya (muhur anubadhyamanah katham^) 
kathayitum arebhe. [no] asti (marndaragirisrmgair iva pra- 

1 Cf. dhakkaye ''va in Hall's manuscript F. 

2 Cf. katipayam aduram adhvanam in Hall's manuscript E, katipayaduram in 
manuscript F, and katipayapadam duram in manuscripts A, B. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts B, C, except rajdvasathasye ''va bhuri'sdldlahkrtasya 
instead of vedasye ''va bhuriidkhdlamkrtasya. 

* Hall's manuscripts C, D, H also omit the first katham. 

5 Hall's manuscripts C, F, G also omit ''va. ^ So also Hall's manuscript F. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscript D. 

^ Cf. md prahopam kuru in Hall's manuscripts B, H. 

^ So also Hall's manuscript C. 



i6o VASAVADATTA 

sasta^)sudhadhavalaih brhatkatha(lambair^) iva salabhamjik(o- 
pasobhitaih ^) vrttair iva samanavakakriditaih kariyuthair iva 
samattavaranaih sugrivasainyair iva sagavaksaih balibhavanair 
iva sutalasannivesaih vesmabhi[iii]r (udbhasitam*) dhanadena 
'pi pracetasa (g5) palena 'pi ramena priyamvadena 'pi puspaketuna 
bharatena 'pi satrughnena ti(42)thiparena 'py ati[ii2]thisatkara- 
(pravanena^) asamkhyena 'pi samkhyavata amarmabhedina 'pi 
viratarena apatitena 'pi nanasavasaktena sudarsanena 'py aca- 
krena ajata[ii3]madena 'pi supratikena (hamsena 'py apaksapa- 
tina) aviditasne(43)haksayena 'pi kulapradipena agramthina 'pi 
vamsapotena (agrahena 'pi kavyajivajnena) nidaghadivasene 'va 
vrsa[vi]vardhitarucina maghaviramadivasene 'va tapasyarambhina 
[114] (nabhasvate 'va satpathagamina vivasvate 'va gopatina 
mahesvarene 'va camdram dadhata nivasi ^)janena 'nugatam (gha- 
napagameUe "^ ) Va darsitakhamdabhrena velatatene 'va pra- 
vala(mamdanena ^ ) devamga(44)najanene 've 'mdraniparicaya- 
vidagdhena (gajemdrene) 'va pallava[ii5](vardhita)rucina k5ki- 
lene 'va parapustena bhramarene 'va kusumesulalitena jalaukase 
'va raktakrstinipunena (yayajukene^) 'va suratarthina mahanata- 
bahu(vanene) 'va (baddhabhujamgamkena ^^) garudene 'va vila- 
sihr[ii6]dayatapa(karina amdhakene) 'va sulanam uparigatena 
vesyajanena 'dhisthitam kusumapurannama nagaraip. yatra ca 
surasuramaulimalalalitacaranaravimda su [ 1 1 7 ] mbhanisumbha- 
(mahasurabala^^)mahavanadav(anaP^a)jvalamahis[amah]asuragiri- 

1 Cf. mandaragiri'sikhardir iva prasasta in Hall's manuscript A, and mandamsrh- 
gddr iva prasasta in manuscript C. 

2 Cf. lambhdir in Hall's manuscript F, and the commentator Jagaddhara, and 
lainbhakdir in manuscript D ; Trichinopoly ed., lambakdir. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts C , D, F. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, G, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara 
and Narasimha. 

5 So also Hall's manuscripts C, F, H. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F. 

■^ Cf. ghandpagama in Hall's manuscripts A, D, and ghandgamene 'va in the 
commentator Jagaddhara. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts C, F, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 

^ So also Hall's manuscript D. 

1^ Cf. baddhabhujaitgena in Hall's manuscripts C, D, H. 
11 Trichinopoly ed. omits bala. 
^'^ So also Hall's manuscript D ; cf. mahdsuravanaddvajvdld in manuscript H. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE i6i 

(vara^)vajra[sara2]dhara pranaya(kalaha ^)pranatagamgadhara- 
jatajuta(koti^)skhalitajahnavijaladharadhautapadapadma bhaga- 
vati katyayani (camda)bhi(45)dhana svayam (nivasati). yasya 
ca parisare surasura(majjanagalita^makuta)kusumaraj6rajiparima- 
la[ii8]vahini pitamahakamamdaludharmadravadhara dharata- 
la(patita)sagarasuta[sata]suranagarasamar6hanapunyarajjuh(aira- 
vatakapolagharghana ^) kampitatata(gata)haricamdana (syamda- 
manarasa ^)surabhitasalila salilasurasumdarinitambabimbahatita- 
ralitataramga snanavatlrnasaptarsi(mamdalavimala^)jatatavipari- 
malapunyaveni (eni)tilaka(makutavikata)jatajutakuharabhramti- 
janita(samskare 'va 'dya 'pi) kutilavarta dharani 'va sarvabhau- 
makarasparsopabhogaksama jaladakalasarasi Va gamdh(a)[an- 
dh5]paribhramad ^ bhramara[i I9]malanumIyamanajala(mula)ma- 
gnakumudapu^ndarlka cchamdovicitir iva malinisanatha (gra- 
hapanktir iva suryatmaj5pa s5bhita sarajahamsa ca^^ saratkala- 
dinasrir ivo 'jvalatkokanada prabuddhapumdarikaksa ca hrta)m- 
dhatamasa 'pi tamasanvita (vlclkalila^^) 'py (46) (avici)durgama 
bhagavati bhagirathi (pra^^)vahati. yac^^ ca disi disi (samtana- 
katarukusumanikaram iva sikharavalagnam) taraganam iva kusu- 
manikaram udvahadbhih utta[iijo]mbhitajaladaih anuru[kara]- 
kasabhighataparavasaravirathaturagagrasavisamit ( agra ) pallavaih 
camdracamurucaranasamkramtamrtakarianikarasekasamjata(ba- 
hula) sukumaranava (kusuma) kisalayasahasradarsitakalasamdhya- 
(kala)vibhramaih bharatacaritair iva sadaramasritaih mahavirair 
iva narikelldharaih asamskrtatarunair iva 'tidurapra(sraya)(47)- 
ksaih (tapasvibhir iva japasaktaih prasadhitair iva krtamalopaso- 
bhitaih) [matta]matamgakumbhasthala(vi)daran(otsuka)simhair 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts C, F, H. 

2 Hall's manuscripts B, D, E, H also omit sdra. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, F, H. 

* a. Jiitakfita in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, H. 

5 So also Hall's manuscript C. 

^ Grantha tdi., ga7-gha7ia; Trichinopoly ed., gharsana. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscript D, 

8 Cf. vimala in Hall's manuscripts A, B, E, F, G, H. 

^ Trichinopoly ed., gandhoparibhramad. 

1° Cf. grahapahktir iva su)ydnugatd sarajahamsa ca in Hall's manuscript C. 
11 So also Hall's manuscript H. ^^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, G, H. 

13 Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha t^.,yatra. 

M 



i62 VASAVADATTA 

ivo ('tphulla^)kesaraih saristair api cirajivibhih (muniyutair api 
madanadhisthitaih) upavanapadapai[iiji]r upas5bhitam aditi- 
jatharam iva 'nekadevakuladhyasitam patalam iva mahabali^o- 
bhitam bhujamgadhisthitam ca (sasuralayam) api pavitram (bho- 
giyuktam) apy (anupadrutam^). (tatra^) [ca] surata(rabhasa)- 
khinna (pra) suptasimamtiniratnatatamka (mukha) mkitabahudam- 
dah pracarndapratipaksalaksmikesapasakusumamala[i22] m5da- 
surabhitakarakamalah prasastakedara iva bahudhanyakarya- 
sampa(48)dakah (partha iva subhadranvitah sabhimasenas ca 
krsna iva satyabhamanuraktah sabalas ca) srmgarasekharo nama 
prativasati. yb valabhit pavak5 dharmaran nirrtih pracetas 
sadagatir dhanada^ :^amkara ity astamurti(dhrd ^) apy anasta- 
murtih [partha iva subhadropetah sabhimasenas ca krsna iva 
satyabhamopetah sabalas ca]. 

[123] suranam patasau sa pimar atipunyaikahrdayo 

grahas tasya 'sthane gurur ucitamarge sa niratah. 
karas tasya 'tyartham vahati satakotipranayitam 
sa sarvasvam data trnam iva (49) (suremdram) vijayate^ 

[124] jivakrstlm sa cakre mrdhabhuvi dhanusah satrur asid 

gatasiir 
laksaptir margananam abhavad aribale (sad^)ya^as tena 

labdham 
mukta tena ksame 'ti tvaritam aribalair uttamamgaih 

pravista 
paiicatvam dvesi(sainyair gatam) avanipatir na "pa sam- 

khyantaram sah. 

[125] yatra [ca] rajani'^ rajaniticature catur(ambudhi Vela)me- 
khalaya bhuvo nayake sasa(5o)ti vasumatim pitr(karyesu ^) vrsot- 
sargah sasinah kanyatularohanam (prasavesu) sulavyaghatacimta 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, H. 

2 Cf. nirupadrutam in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G, H. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. * Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed., dhrg. 

" Also in Subhdsitdvali 2631, reading rasiko for hrdayo and atyantam spr'sati for 
aiyartham vahati, 

" So also Hall's manuscript A, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 

' Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed. omit rajani. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, R 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts D, H. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 163 

[danacchedah karikapSlesu] daksinavamakaranam diri(niscaye- 
su^) sarabhed5 dadhisu [iiz6] srmkhalabamdho varnagrathanasu 
utpreks(aksepav) [kavyajalamkaresu laksadanacyutis sayakanam 
kvipam sarvavinasah kosasamkocah kamalakaresu (na janesu) 
jati(vi)hinata (malasu na duskule) srmgarahani[i27]r jaratkarisu 
na janesu durvarnayogah (karnikadisu) na kamini[kanti^]sugam- 
dharavicchedo ragesu na pauravanitasu (murchadhigam5 (51) 
ganesu na prajasu karma)bhav5 nicasevakesu na pari(dhanesu ^) 
malinambaratvam nisasu na janesu [138] calaragata gitesu na 
vidagdhesu vrsahanir nidhuvanavllasu na pauresu bhamguratvam 
ragavikrtisu na cittesu anamgata kamadeve na parijane* mara- 
gamo yauvan(odgamesu) na prakrtisu dvijaghatah suratesu na 
prajasu rasanabamdho ratikalahesu na dananumati[i29]su adha- 
ra(ragata) tarunisu na parijanesu (krmtanam) alakesu^ na puram- 
dhrisu nistrimsatvam (asisu) na (manassu) karavalanaso (yodhesu 
na janapadesu) param^ (evam vyavasthitam. tasya"^ ca 'bhud 
evambhutasya rajila) (52) mahisi diggaja[kapola]mada(rekhe) 'va 
'namditaligana [130] parvati 'va sukumara (camdrarekhalam- 
krta ca vanarajir iva navamalikodbhasita sacitrakanana ca apsa- 
rassamhatir iva samhatasukesi samamjughosa ca) sarvamtahpu- 
rapradhanabhuta anamgavati nama ^. tayos ca madhyamopamte 
vayasi vartamanayoh katham api daivavasat tribhuvanavilobha- 
nlyakrtih pulomatanaye 'va 'namditasahasranetra (merugirime- 
khale 'va sujatarupa sarannise 'vo 'llasattaraka satparisad iva 
'cchidradvijapanktibhusita raksasakulasrir iva malyavatsukesaso- 
bhita) tanaya ('bhud) vasavadatta nama. atha sa ravanabhuja- 
(vana^) ivo 'l(lasitagotre ^^ vimdhyacala iva ma(53)danalamkrte 
paravara iva samjatalavanye namdanavana iva sadakalpa^^so- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, G, H. 

2 Hall's manuscripts D, F also omit kdnti. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, G, H. 

* Trichinopoly ed. and Srirangam text, parijanesu. 

5 Trichinopoly ed., kamalesu. '° Tel. ed, 6i and Grantha tdi., paramam. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, and the commentator Narasimha. 

^ Grantha ed., anamgavatindma. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D. 
1° So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F. 
11 Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., /^c^C/^a. 

M 3 



i54 VASAVADATTA 

bhite pavana iva sumanohare^) parinamam upayaty api (yau- 
vane) parinayaparanmukhi tasthau. [131] (athai) "kada ^ [tu] 
vijVmbhamanasahakarak5rakanikurumbanipatitamadhukaramala- 
madakalajhamkara(humkara ^) janitapathika[janasan *]jvarah ko- 
malamalayamarut5ddhutacutaprasavarasasvadakasayakamthaka- 
lakamtha(kuhakuharava ^)bharitasakaladinmukhah vikacakama- 
lasamda ( ni ) liyamana [13^] mattakalahamsakulakolahalamukhar i - 
ta[sakala]sarovarah parabhrta(kharatr6ti)kotipatita^(patali)kut- 
mala [ vrnta ] vi varavinirgatamadhudharasarasikara [ kan a]nikara- 
( samarabdha ) daksinasamirana ( maravarana ) vranitapathika [ j ana ] 
vadhuhrdayah madhumadamuditakamini(mukhakamala)gamdu- 
sa^idhu(sevana)pulakitavakulah madana(raya)paravasavilasinitu- 
lakotivikatacatulacaranaravimda(54)[manda]praharaprahrstakam- 
kelitaru^atah prati(dinam) aslllapraya(vaihasika)giyamanagi- 
ta^ravanotsukasidgajanaprarabdhaca [133] rcarigitakarnana (mad - 
yad)anekapathika(janah) durjana iva satamarasah duskula iva 
jatihinah ravana iva 'pital6hitapalasasata(sevyamanah) mahasrm- 
gari'va sugamdha(vahah) suraje Va samrddhaku[i34]valayah va- 
stavika iva [vi]vardhitasukha^ah satkavikavya(pra)bamdha iva 
('nava)baddhatuhinah satpurusa iva dosanubamdharahitah kai- 
varta iva [a'^]baddharajiv5tpala(jalah) samrddhakasara[sakuni]- 
sartha iva ('namdita)[i35]ma(55)ruvakah sakra ive 'mdranl(ruci- 
rah mahadhir) iva 'dharikrtadamanakah sidga iva 'mlanasubha- 
gah vasamtakala ajagama. [136] atidurapravrddhena madhuna 
jagati k5 va na vi(kriyeta) yad ati(mukto) munir api vicakasa. 
kusuma^arasya navacuta(kusumabana)mulanilina madhukar(ava- 
ir vilikhita namaksarapahktir) iva reje. vrmtavinirgatavi(kaca^- 
vicikilavivare ^ kujan) madhukaro makaraketos tn[i37]bhuvana- 
vijaya[prayana]^amkhadhvanim iva cakara. navayavakapamka- 

1 Cf. vindhydcala iva madanddhisthite pdrdvdra iva sanjdtaldvanye madanavana 
iva sadd kalpatarundbhinandite pavana iva sumanohdrini'm Hall's manuscripts B, C. 

2 Cf. athdi ^^kadd tu in Hall's manuscript C. 

' Cf. madakalakumkdra in Hall's manuscripts A, D, G. 

< Hall's manuscripts C, G, H also omitjanasah. 

^ Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., kuhdkuhdrava \ Trichinopoly ed., kuhakuhdrdva. 

^ Tel. ed. 6i, kharatrotipdtita \ Grantha ed., kharatrotitapdtita. 

' Hall's manuscripts B, C also omit a. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, E, H. 

• Cf. vicakilavivaragufijan in Hall's manuscript C. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 155 

pallavita(vara)nupura(ranitaramaniya)tarimlcaranapraharanuraga- 
vasan navakisalayacchalena tarn (eva ^) ragam iidavahad a^5kah. 
madhuramadhu [ pari ^ ] puritakaminlmukhakamalagamdusa ( s a m- 
gad 3) i(56)va tadrasa(gamdham ^) atmakusumesu bibhrad vaku- 
lataru raraja. amtaramtara nipatitamadhukaranikara(kimmirah) 
kamkeligucchordhanirvanamanabhavacitacakranukari pathika- 
jana(citta)daham uvaha. vikacavi(cikila)rajir a!ikulasaba[i38]la 
(kalitemdranlla) muktavali Va madhusriyo viruruce. virahinam 
hrdayamathanaya kusumasarasya (sana)cakram ^ iva nagakesara- 
kusumam a^obhata. pathikajanahrdayamatsyam grhitum maka- 
raketoh (palavali ^) 'va patali(kusumam) adrsyata. kamdarpake- 
jl[sampal] lampatalatlla [139] latatata (lulitalakadhammilabhara '^ - 
kusuma)panma!asamrddhamadhurimagunah kamakalakalapa(ni- 
puna)karnatasumdari (sumdara ^) stanakalasa (yugala ) ghusrnadhu- 
li(patala)parima!am6davahi (ranaranakarasitaparamta)kamta- 
[kuntalljkumtalol (lasita) samkramtaparimalamilitallmala (madhu- 
ra)jhamkararavamukhantanabhas(sthalah) navayauvan(oddhata)- 
keralikapolapalipatravali[i4o]paricayacaturah catussastikalaka- 
lapavidagdhamugdha (57) (mukharamalavi) [nitambini ^Jnitamba- 
bimbasamvahana(subhagah) surata(pari)sramaparavas(amdhra- 
puramdhri ^^ ) nIramdhrapTnapay odharabharanidaghaja 1 a k a n a n i - 
kara(sisirah) malaya(maruto ^^) vavau. atramtare vasavadatta- 
sakhijanat vidita(suta)bhiprayah srmgarasekharas svasutayah 
svayamvarartham asesa(dhara)talabhajam (rajaputranam) eka- 
tra (me}anam) akarot. tato dagdhakrsn(agarudhupa)parima- 
lamodamohitamadhu (karamala ^^ [141] bahulaghumaghumayita^^- 
rava)mukharita(digamtaram)atirabhasahasacchat(amodaparima!i- 



1 So also Hall's manuscripts B, C, D, G, H. 

3 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H also omit pari. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts B, C. 

* Cf. tatsamdnagandham in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G. 

5 Cf. takratacakram in Hall's manuscripts A, B, and the commentator Narasimha. 

6 Trichinopoly td., jdldvalT. 

■^ Cf. dhammillabhdra in Hall's manuscript D. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, E, F, G, H. 

^ Hall's manuscripts C, E, F, H also omit nitambini. 

1° So also Hall's manuscripts C, F. *^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, G, H, 

^2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, G. ^^ So also Hall's manuscript F. 



166 VASAVADATTA 

tarn) anekapanhasa(katha ^)lapavidagdha(srmgara[i42]maya2)ja- 
na(nicaya)samakulam dahyamana(mahisaksadisugamdhadravya)- 
saurabhakrstapur5pavanasatpadakul[asam]akulam arjunasama- 
ram iva namdighosamukharitadigamtaram (nrpasthanam iva sa- 
rajopaharam tapasasramam iva vitanodbhasitam trivistapam iva 
sumanolamkrtam) mamcam aruroha (vararoha) vasavadatta. ta- 
tra [ca ^] kecit kulamkura iva vi{dita)nagaramamda(58)nah [143] 
apare pamdava iva (sadivyacaksusah *) krsnaguruparimilitas (ca) 
anye saraddivasa iva [su ^]durapravrddh[asukh ^]asah itare (pra- 
hartum) udyata [144] iva svabalarthinah kecid vyadha iva saku- 
nasravakah kecid akhetaka(sakta) iva rupanusarapravrttah kecit 
jaiminimatanusarina iva tathagatadhvamsinah kecit khamjana 
iva (samvatsarika)phaladarsinah kecit sumerupa(59)risara iva 
kartasvaramayah kecit [145] [vikaca "^Jkumudakara iva bhasvad- 
darsanamilitah kecid dhartarastra [146] iva visvarupavalokana- 
janitemdrajal(adbhut^)apratyayah kecid atmani varanabuddhya 
balavamta 'pi subahah kecit panigrahanarthino [147] 'py asuka- 
ram manyamanah kecid adhan(krta ^) (60) api sthirah kecit pam- 
duputra iva 'ksahrdayajiianahrtaksamah kecit brhatkathanu(sa- 
rina iva) gunadhyah kecit tiryaggataya (iva) sugamdhavahah 
[148] kecit kauravasainika iva dr5na(sastra)sucakah kecit (kaira- 
va)kara iva 'sodhasurabhasah (ksanam evam) sthitah rajaputrah. 
(sa ca ksanenai "tan) ekaikasas sam(a)[i49]lokya viraktahrdaya 
(sati) tasmat (karnirathad ^^) avatatara. atha tasyam eva ratrau 
[svapne] valinam iva 'mgadopasobhitam kuhu(mukham ^^) iva 
harikamtham kanakamrgam iva ramakarsananipunam jaya[i5o]m- 
tam iva vacanamrtanamditavrddhasravasam kr(5i)snam iva kam- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H. 
3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H. 

3 Tel. ed. 61, Grantha ed., and Trichinopoly ed., atra; Hall's manuscripts D, E, F, 
G, H also omit ca. 

4 Cf. divyacaksusah in Hall's manuscripts A, B, H. 

5 Hall's manuscripts C, D, F also omit su. 

^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, H also omit sukha. 

■^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, H also omit vikaca. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G, H. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 
^° So also Hall's manuscripts C, F, H. 
" So also Hall's manuscripts A, B,C, D, E, F, G,H,and the commentator Jagaddhara. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 167 

saharsam na kurvamtam mahamegham iva vilasatkarakam (sa- 
mudram iva mahasatvatej5yuktam malinya kabarikaya tumga- 
bhadraya nasikaya sonena 'dharena narmadaya vaca g5daya 
bhujaya svarvahinya kirtya ca punyasarinmayam iva) adikam- 
dam (srmgara ^)padapasya [a ^jrShanagirim (sakalagunaratna ^- 
samuhasya*) prabhava(sailam) sumdara(kamdarpa)kathanadinam 
surabhimasam vaidagdhyasahakarasya adarsatalam (saumdarya- 
sya prathamamulam) [151] vidyalatanam svayamvarapatim (sa- 
rasvatyah^) spardha (graham kirtilaksmyoh ^ mula)grham ^lla- 
sampadam k6sa(grham) mahasaumdarya(dhanasya) tribhuvana- 
(ramanlya)krtim (kamcid) yuvanam dadarsa. sa [ca] cintamani- 
namno rajiias tanayah kamdarpaketur (iti) svapna eva (tan)na- 
madikam (asrnot). anamtaram ah5 prajapate rupa(62)nirmana- 
kausalam [idam] manye svasyai "va [15^] naipunyasyai ("katra) 
darsandtsukamanasa (vedhasa) jagattrayasama(vaya)rupapara- 
manun adaya viracito 'yam (iti) anyatha katham iva 'sya kamti- 
visesa idrs5 bhavati. vrthai 'va damayamti nalasya krte [153] 
(vane) [vasajvaisasam [av]apa. mudhai 've 'mdumati mahisy 
apy ajanuragini babhuva. (vi)phalam eva dusyamtasya krte 
(durvasasas :^apam anubabhuva sakumtala). nirarthakam (eva^) 
madanamamjari "^ naravahanadattam cakame. [154] niskaranam 
eva (merugirinitambe urugarima^nirjita)rambha rambha nalaku- 
baram acikamata ^. (vyartham) eva dhumorna (svayam)svayam- 
varartham (agatesu devaganesu) [155] dharmarajam (acakamkse^^. 
rddhis tu nisprayojanam eva gamdhai-vayaksesu kuberam asa- 
sada. ahetukam eva pulomatanaya devemdrasaktacitta babhu- 
va). iti bahuvidham (cimtayitva) viraha(63)murmur(agni)ma- 
dhyam adhirudhe 'va (madanadava)gnisikhakaba!ite 'va (va- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

2 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H also omit a. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 
* So also Hall's manuscript D. 

5 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 

6 So also Hall's manuscript D. "^ Trichioopoly ed., madanamanjukd. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, G, H. 

9 Tel. ed. 6i, Grantha ed., and Hall's manuscript E have acakamata. 

10 Srirangam text, Trichinopoly ed., Hall's manuscripts A, E, F, G, H, and the 
commentator Jagaddhara have acakdhksa. 



1 68 VASAVADATTA 

samta)kalagni(sikhagrhite Va daksinamaruta)rudrapavakagraste 
Va (unmada)pata!a(grham) praviste 'va sunyakaranagrame (Va^ 
vartamana) hrdaye (vi)likhitam iva utkirnam iva pratyuptam iva 
kilitam iva nigalitam iva vajra(sara)ghatitam iva asthipamjara- 
pravistam iva (majjarasa^abalitam iva marmamtarasthitam) iva 
pranaparitam iva amtaratmana[i56]m adhisthitam iva rudhir(a- 
^aye^) dravibhutam iva palalasamvibhaktam iva kamdarpake- 
tum manyamana unmatte 'va ('mdhe 'va) badhire 'va muke 'va 
sunye 'va nirast(emdriya)grame 'va murchagrhite 'va grahagraste 
'va yauvanasagara(tarala)taramgaparampara(parite) 'va ragaraj- 
jubhih (parivarite ^) 'va kamdarpakusumabanaih kllite 'va ^rmga- 
rabhavanavisa(rasa*)(64)ghurnite 'va rupaparibhavanasalya (kl- 
lite) 'va malayanilapahrtajivite 'va (bhavamtl sa^ ha priye) sakhy 
anamgalekhe vitara hrdaye me panipadmam dussah5 'yam vira- 
hasamtapah mugdhe madana[i57]mamjari simca ('mgani) cam- 
dana(varina) sarale vasamtasene samvrnu kesapasam tarale ta- 
ramgavati vikira ('mgesu kaitaka)dhulim vame madanamalini 
vijaya sai(valakalapena) capale citra(rekhe vicitrapate^ vilikha) 
citta(coram) janam (bhamini) vilasavati (viksipa"^ 'vayavesu) 
muktacurnanikaram ragini ragalekhe sthagaya nalinida!a(nica- 
yena) payodharabharam (su^)kamte kamtimati (mamdam) mam- 
dam ^ apanaya baspabimdun (yuthike yuthikalamkrte samcaraya 
kadalidalatalavrmtena "rdravatan) [158] ehi bhagavati nidre 
anugrhana mam dhig imdriyair aparaih kim iti l5canamayany 
eva (na krtany amgani) vidhina bhagavan kusumayudha (tava^°) 
'yam amjalir [te] anu(vas6) bhava bhavavati (ma)drse jane [159] 
malayanila surata(mahotsava ^^)diksaguro vaha yath(estam) apa- 
gata mama prana iti bahuvidham bhasamana (vasavadatta) sa- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts B, E, F, H. 

2 Cf. rudhirdsayadravi m. Hall's manuscripts C, H. 
5 So also Hall's manuscript F. 

* Cf. srhgdrarasabhdvana in Hall's manuscripts D, G, H. 
5 Tel. ed. 61, Grantha ed,, and Srirangam text omit sd. 

* Trichinopoly ed. and Srirangam text, citrapate, 
' So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, H. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H. 

^ Cf. mandamanda in Hall's manuscripts A, C, D, F, G, H. 
1" Cf. anjalis tavd 'mccard in Hall's manuscripts C, D. 
^* So also Hall's manuscript D. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 169 

khijanena samam mumurca. (sapadi) panjana(prayatnat grhita- 
jlva) [sati^] ksanam atisisiraghanasararas(akul)animnaga[kula]- 
puline ksanam atituhinamalayajarasasaritparisare ksanam (ati- 
lohitakanakaravimdakadamba) parivantasaras(ta (65) ticamdana)- 
[i6o]vItapicchayasu ksanam anil6l(lasita)dalesu kadalikananesu 
ksanam kusuma(prava!a)sayyasu ksanam nalinida!a(prastaresu 
ksanam tusarasamghatasisiritasilatalesu parijanena^ niyamana) 
pralayakaloditadvadasaravikiranakalapativravira h ( an a 1 a d a hy a - 
mana) atikrsa(pranam) iva tanum bibhrati (sa 'bala) mamda- 
(mamdam) amdojIta[i 5t ]dugdhasimdhutaralataramgacchatadha- 
valahasacchuritadharapallavam tanmukharavimdam dvijakulam 
iva smtipranayitadiksanayugalam sahajasurabhimukhapanmal(a- 
modam ^) aghratukame Va [su]duravinirgata (tan)nasavamsa- 
laksmih kalamkamuktemdukala(kalapakomalapiyyusa ^)phena- 
[patalajpamdura ^ (tad)dvijapanktih [tad aldrstacaram anamgam 
(atisayi ^tadrupam) dhanyani tani sthanani "^ te [ca] janapadah 
(punyah tani) namaksarani [ca^] [i6ij] sukrtabhamji yany amuna 
pariskrtani 'ti muhur muhur [padjbhavayamti [diksu vidiksu] (vi)li- 
khitam iva nabhasi [utkirnam iva vijlocane pratibimbitam iva citra- 
(pate ^) pur5darsitam iva^° (tam) itas tat5 vilokayamtl vyatisthata. 
atha tasyas (tamalika nama sarika) tat(priya)sakhibhis (samam 
sama^^)locya kamdarpaketu(bhavam) a[i63]kalayitum (presita). 
(sa 'pi) maya [eva] sardham (agata) 'trai "va taror adliastat 
tisthati 'ty uktva virarama. atha (tac chrutva ^^ kamdarpaketus) 
saharsam (sam)utthaya tamalikam (a(66)huya) viditavrttamtam 
akarot. sa (tasmai) krtapranama [makarandaya] patrikam upa- 
nayat. atha (makaramdas) tam (adaya) svayam eva Vacayat. 



I Hall's manuscripts C, D, H also omit sail. ^ So also Hall's manuscript D, 
3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, E, F, G, H. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts A, B. C, E, G, H. 
s Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ^^., pdmdard. 

^ Srirangam text and Trichinopoly ed., adrstacaram anahgdti'sdyi. 
■^ Srirangam text and Trichinopoly ed., tani dhanydni sthdndni. 
8 Hall's manuscripts E, G also omit ca. 
3 So also Hall's manuscript D. 
10 Trichinopoly &^., p7'atibimbitam iva locatie purodarHtam iva citrapate. '. 

II So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D. 
12 So also Hall's manuscript D. 



170 VASAVADATTA 

[164] pratyaksadrstabhava 'py asthirahrdaya hi kamini bhavati 
svapnanubhutabhava drdhayati na pratyayam yuvatih. 

tac chrutva kamdarpaketur amrtarnava(ni)magna(m) iva sarva- 
namdanam upanvartamana(m iva "tmanam manyamanS^ mam- 
damamdam^) utthaya prasaritabahuyugalas tamalikam a(lilimge). 
[atha] tayai "va (ca) sardham kim karoti kim vadati katham asta 
ityadi sakalain vasavadattavrttantam (sa) prcchan [tatra tarn ni- 
sam] (tarn) divasam [api] (tatrai "va) 'tivahya (tasmat pradesat taya 
saho^ 'ccacala sasuhrt kamdarpaketuh). [1^5] atramtare bha- 
gavan api maricimall [tarn] vrttamtam (imam) kathayitum (iva) 
madhyama^lokam avatatara. atha vasaratamracudacudacakra- 
karah cakravaka(hrdaya^)samkramitasamtapataye Va mamdi- 
manam udvahann (astagiri)mamdarastabakasumdarah simdura- 
(rajiramjita ^)surarajakumbhikumbhavibhramam bibhranah tam- 
davacamdavegocchalitadhurjatijatajuta(makutavikatabaddha'^)- 
bamdhura [ vi [ 1 6 6 ] kata] vasukibhogamanitatamkasanabhimanda - 
lah samdhya(simamtini^)sa(67)rasayavaka(patra^)caruh varuni- 
varavilasini[aruna^°]manikumdalakantih kalakaravaja(samchin- 
na)vasaramahisaskamdhacakrakarah [167] (madhura)madhu(pu- 
rnam kapalam) iva (gagana)kapalinah amlanakusumastabaka 
iva nabhassriyah (puspastabaka iva) gaganas5ka(taroh) [iva] ka- 
naka[maya ^^jdarpana iva praticivilasinyah (bhadra iva varuni- 
samgatah saragas ca durvidagdha iva parityaktavasuh savisadas 
ca sakya iva raktamsukadharah surir iva samjii5petah) bhagavan 
dinamanir (aparakupara)payasi taralataramgavegocchalitavidru- 



1 Cf. parivartamdnam dimdnam manyamdno in Hall's manuscript D. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B. 
s So also Hall's manuscript D. 

4 Trichinopoly ed. and Srirangam text, madhyamam. 

5 So also Hall's manuscript F. 

6 Cf. sinduraranjita in Hall's manuscripts A, B. 

■^ Cf. jutamukutakotibandha in Hall's manuscript D. 

8 Cf . sdirandhrt in Hall's manuscript F, and the variant reading purandhrt recorded 
by ^ivarama. 

9 Cf. patacdru in Hall's manuscripts B, C, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara ; 
also pattacdru in manuscript D, and the commentator Narasirnha. 

i<^ Hall's manuscripts B, C, D, H also omit aruna. 

^^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H also omit maya. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 171 

mavitapakrtir mamajja. (tatah^) kramena [ca] [168] raj6[vi2]- 
luthit6tthitakulayarthi[paraspara]kalahavikalakalavimkakulaka- 
lakalavacalasikharesu sikharisu vasati(sa ^)kamksesu dhvamksesu 
anavaratadahyamanakal(agaru)dhupapanmal5dgaresu vasagara- 
(jalavivaresu) durvamcitatatinitatanivista(g5sthi^)vidagdhajana- 
prastuyamana [kavya ^] kathasravan6tsukasisujanakalakala(rav6t- 
kupitasamrddhesu) vrddhesu al5likataralarasanabhih kathita(ba- 
hu)kathabhir jaratibhir a(68)tilaghu[i69]kara(tadana^)janita (su- 
khabhir'^ anugate^) sisayisamane sisujane viracitakamdarpamu- 
drasu ksudrasu kamukajananubadhyamanadasijanavividhaslila- 
(vacas)srutivirasi(krtasu ^ kaminisu) samdhyavamdanopavistesu 
sistesu r6mamthamamtharakuramga(kutumba)dhyasyamanamra- 
disthagosthinaprsthasv aranyasthalisu nidra(vidraria)dr5na(kaka)- 
kula(kalila^°)kulayesu (gramatarunicayesu) [170] kapeyavikalaka- 
pikula(kalilesv) asrama(drumesu kalakalavikalabakakulesv ara- 
matarusu) nirjigamisati jarattarukotarakutirakutumbini kausika- 
kule timiratarjananirgatasu dahanapravistadinakara(sakhasvi^) 
iva [pra ^^Jsphurantisu dipa(sikhasu ^^) mukharitadhanusi varsati 
saranikaram [anavaratam] asesa(samsar[i7i]ika)semuslmusi ma- 
karadhvaje surat(akalparambha^*)s5bhini sambhalibhasitabhaji 
bhajati bhusambhujisyajane sairamdhribadhyamanarasan(akalpa)- 
jalpaka(jaghanasu^^) janlsu visramtakatha(69)nubamdha[i72]taya 
pravartamana(kathaka ^^)janagrhagamanatvaresu catvaresu sama- 
(sadita)kukkutesu (kiratajana)niskutesu krtayastisamarohanesu 

1 So also Hall's manuscript D, and the commentator Narasimha. 

2 HalPs manuscript C also omits vi. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 

4 Cf. nibaddhagosthtkavidagdha in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 

5 Hall's manuscript D also omits kdvya. 

6 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

7 So also Hall's manuscripts B, C, F. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G, H. 
^ Cf. krtesu in Hall's manuscript D. 

1° So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 
11 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D. 
^2 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, G, H also omit pra. 

13 So also Hall's manuscript A. i^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H, 

" So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

16 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and the commentator Jagad- 
dhara. 



11 Q. VASAVADATTA 

barhinesu vihitasamdhyasamayavyavasthesu grhasthesu (svapati) 
samkocodamcad (ucca^) kesarakotisamkatakusesay (odara) kotar a- 
kutira(kutila)sayini satcaranacakre ['tha] anenai ("va patha) bha- 
gavata (bhasvata) [samajgamtavyam iti (sarvatah) pattamayair 
vasanair [iva] manikuttimalir iva viracita varunena (raveh) [173] 
kala(karavala)krttasya divasamahisasya rudhiradhare Va vidru- 
malate Va (carama)rnavasya raktakamalini Va gagana(tatakasya) 
kamcana(ketur^) iva kamdarpa(rathasya) mamjistharagarunapa- 
take Va gaganaharmya(sthalasya) laksmlr iva svayamvara[pari ^]- 
grhitapltambara bhiksuki Va taranu(raga)raktambaradharini 
(varayosid iva pallavanurakta kamini Va kaleyatamrapayo(7o)- 
dhara babhur iva kapilataraka ^) bhagavati samdhya samadrsyata. 
(tatah) ksanena [ca] ksanad(anu)raga[racana]caturasu (vesyasv 
iva samdhyasisyasv iva sphuramtlsu dipalekhasu) [174] tuladha- 
rasunyayam panya(vidhikayam) iva divi [ghanajghatamanadala- 
putasu putakinisu ^ timiraprati(hatesv ive 'tas tatah) paribhra- 
matsu kamalasarasi madhukara(nikaresu) vikalakurarirutaccha- 
lena [175] ravivirahavidhurasu vilapamtisv iva sarojinisu (prati- 
phalitasamdhyaragarajyamanasalilasthitasu pativinasahrtpidaya 
dahanapravistasv iva kamalinisu) ganaka iva naksatrasucake pra- 
dose harakamtha[kanda]kalimasanabhi daityabala[i76]m iva 
pra(katita^)tarakam bharatasamaram iva vardhamandlukakalaka- 
1am drstadyumnaviryam iva kumthitadronapra(bhavam) namda- 
na[vana'^]m iva samcaratkausikam krsnavartma(jvalanam) iva 
(ni)khilakasthapaharakam sagarbham iva [177] ghanatarapa- 
sana(karkasasu) giritatisu sacaksur iva supta(prabuddha)simha- 
nayana(cchavi)cchatakapilesu sanusu sajlvam iva tamomanibhih 
samvardhitam iva 'gnihotradhuma(rekhabhih) mamsalitam iva 
kaminikesa[pasa]samskara[aguru](dhupa)patalaih 11(7 i)ddipitam 



1 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, F. ^ go ^Iso Hall's manuscript D. 

3 Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, H also omit pari\ Tel. ed. 6i, Grantha ed., and 
Hall's manuscripts C, F have svayamgrhita. 

* So also L Hall's manuscript D, except kdleyaka for kaleya^ ''and omitiing ka- 
mini 'va. 

^ Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha e^., puiikimsu. 

6 Cf. prakata in Hall's manuscripts D, F. 

' Hall's manuscripts B, F, H also omit vana. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 173 

iva ghanatara(nila)madhukara[i78](patalaih mecakitam iva^) pe- 
cakikapola(ga!{ta)danadharasikaraih pumjikrtam iva vitatatamala- 
(kanana^cchata)cchayasu (ni)liyamanam iva kajjala(rasa ^)syama- 
bhogibhogesu pravaranam iva rajanlpamsulayah palitausadham 
iva vrddhavara(yositam) apatyam iva rajanyah suhrd iva [179] 
kalikalasya mitram iva durjana(hrdayanam *) bauddha(siddham- 
tam ^) iva pratyaksadravyam apahnuvanam [timiram vyajrmbhata] 
muditam iva [ati^]mattamatamga(gamdhasthale) phalitam iva 'tisa- 
mdra(bahu!a)cchada(vitata''')tamala(kanana^sphutapatav6tkatavi- 
samkatanekavitapivitapotkata^sphutakusumaputapihita^^padasat- 
padavalisu^^pari)sphuritam iva [atikanta]kamta[jana]ghanatara- 
kesa[pasa ^^Jsamhatau (unmilitam) ive 'mdranila[mani]rasmibhih 
ati[i8o]sayamamsa!itam iva 'vata(tatesu) satopam iva^^ [sphuta- 
patav5tkataprakatavisarikatakutajavitapotkatavinatitasatpadalisu] 
('ti)ghanataragh6raghasmaravisadharabh5ga(bhasuramada)bhara- 
matta ^*damtidamta[i8i]dyutitarjana(jarjharitatamam [tamah] 
divakarodayarambhanam) iva samkucat(kuvalayam asatam ma- 
hattvam iva tiraskrtasakalamtaram nimllannllotpalavyajaracitam- 
jaliputena namad iva "gatam) tamim (timiram arajata. atha) 
ksanen(ai "va) samdhyatamdava(dambaro)cchalitamahanata(72)- 
jatajutakutakutila(skhalana)vivartitajahnukanyavaridharabimdava 
iva (pra)kirnah dur(bharadharani)bhara[bhara]bhugnabhimadin- 
[matta^^]matamga(gamda)mamdala(vi)mukta[i SiZJsikaracchata iva 
(tatah^^)atidavIyonabha(sthala^^)bhramariakhinna(ravituramgama- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, D, F. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 

3 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D,F. 
^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, F. 

5 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, G, H. 

^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, C also omit ati. 

"^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G, H. 

^ Trichinopoly ed. kdnane satopam iva. 

3 Cf. sahkatdnekavitapotkatavitapi in Hall's manuscript D. 

10 Trichinopoly ed,, nihita. 

11 Hall's manuscripts C, D, G, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara and Narasimha 
also have dvalisu. 

12 Hall's manuscripts D, E, H also oimxtpd'sa. 

1' Trichinopoly ed. omits satopam iva. ^* Trichinopoly ed.. bhdsuram 77iatta. 

15 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H also omit matta. 

i« So also Hall's manuscript D. ^^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, G, H. 



174 VASAVADATTA 

syavivaramta)phenastabaka iva (visirnah ^) gaganamahasarah ku- 
muda(samd6ha)samdeha(dayinah) visvam ganayato [vi]dhatus 
sasikathinlkhamdena tamomasisyame ajina iva (viyati^) samsa- 
rasyatisunyatvat sunyabimdava iva vi(likhitah) jagattrayavi(jigi- 
sa)vinirgatasya makaraketoh rati[i83]kara[tala]vikirna (iva la- 
jamjalayah^ gulika)stragulika iva (viksiptah) puspa(dhanusah) 
viyadamburasiphenastabaka iva (vitatah) rativiracita gagan(am- 
kane) atarpanapaiicamgulaya iva vikirnah vyoma(tala)laksmi- 
haramuktanikara iva (vicchinnah harakopanaladagdhakama *)cita- 
cakrad^ vatya(vesaviprakirnah) kamaklkasa[i84]khamda iva ti- 
mir5dgama[dhuma]dhumalasamdhyanalaparitaptagagana(maha- 
nasa)sthali[kataha]bharjyamana(sphutita)laj (anukaras ^ tara) vya- 
rajamta. tabhis (svitri) 'va viyad asobhata. (dirghatar)occhva- 
saracanakulam (sam'^)slesavaktra(cakra)ghatanapatu sat(kavya)- 
viracanam iva ca(73)kravakamithunam ati[i85]va 'khidyata. ka- 
malinl [ vana] samcaranalagnamakaramdabimdusandohalubdhamu- 
gdhamukharamadhukaramalasabalagatram kalapasene Va (murti- 
mad)ramasapene (Va) "krsyamanam cakravakamithunam vija- 
ghate. ravivirahavidhurayah [i86] kamalinya hrdayam iva dvi- 
dha papata cakravakamithunam. agamisyato himakaradayitasya 
parsve samcaramti kumudinyah bhramaramala duti Va 'laksyata. 
taraka(nayanajalabimdu) vyaj ad astamgatasya divakara(dayitasya) 
sokad iva [sthulasrubindubhih^] kakubho vyarudan. bhasvato 
nijadayitasya virahad abhinavakimjalkarajivyajena (s5kanala)- 
murmuro [iva] (nalina)k6sahrdaye jajvala. (tato) ravirasmi(da- 
vagni^bhasmikrta)[i87]nabhovanamasirasir iva srutivacanam iva 
(ksapita^^)digambaradarsanam (krsnam api tiraskrtavisvarupabha- 



1 Cf. iirnd in Hall's manuscript B. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

3 Cf. mktrnd Idjdnjalaya in Hall's manuscript D. 
< So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. 

^ Trichinopoly ed., cakrdc candrdd. 

^ Cf. sphutitaldjabTjdnukdrd in Hall's manuscripts B, C, F, H, and the commenta- 
tor Jagaddhara. 

''' So also Hall's manuscript D, and the commentators Jagaddhara and Narasimha. 
^ Hall's manuscripts D, E, H also omit sthiildirubinduhhih, 
^ So also Hall's manuscripts B, C, G. 
1° Cf. ksata in Hall's manuscripts A, F, H. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 175 

vaVisesam) sadyo dravita(rajatapatadravapravaha) iva sarvaram 
amdhakaram [vyjajrmbhata. (atha) ksanena [ca] ksanadaraja(ka- 
nyakamtuka iva) kamdarpakanakadarpana^ (iva) udayagiribalama- 
mdarapuspastabaka (iva) praci(mahi!a(74)]alamalalata^tataghatita- 
bamdhukakusumatilaka)[i88]cakrakarah kanakakumdalam iva 
nabhassriyah (dig)vadhuprasadhikahastasrastalaktaka(pimda^) iva 
gaganasaudha(talasatakumbha)kumbha iva prasthana(mamgala)- 
kalasa iva (makaraketos tribhuvanavijayaisinah) [kandarpakarta- 
svaratunamukhakantitaskarah pracyasailasikharagraprarudhaja- 
pakusumacchavih svacchakunkumapindapurna[i89]patram iva 
nisavilasinyah] kumkumarun[aik]astanakalasa iva "khamdalasa- 
mganayah (garuda) iva harinadhisthitah rama iva laksmananvitah 
(vanaremdra iva 'nuraktatarah vrsabha iva rohinipriyah) suraje 
'va raktamamdalah (mrdukarasahitas ca jambavan iva rksapari- 
vrtah) rajanipatir udayam asasada. [tatah] kaminihrdayasamkra- 
mita iva (cakra)mgana(nayanayugala)pita[i9o] iva raktakumuda- 
k5s(a)lldha iva ksinatam (gatah) ksanada(karagato) ragah. ana- 
mtaram sarvarlvrajamganaviskrta(nutana)navanitasvastika iva 
(mrgacchaya)mudrita[mukura^] iva ("darsah) svetatapatram iva 
makaraketoh damta(pa!l)cakram iva viyanmaha(khadgasya) sve- 
tacamaram iva madana[i9i]maharajasya (bala)pu!inam iva nisa- 
yamunayah sphatikalimgam iva gaganamahatapasasya amdam 
iva kaloragasya kambur iva nabhomaharna(75)vasya caityam iva 
[madanaridagdhasya makaraketos citacakram iva] (kal)amgarasa- 
balam (bhavanetragnidagdhasya)samkalpajanmanah (pumdaiikam 
iva gaganagamigamgayah phenasamcaya iva gaganamaharna- 
vasya) paradapimdam iva (gagana)dhatuvadinah rajatakalasa iva 
durvapravalasabalo (manobhavabhisekasya® svetacakram iva) 
ka[i9a]mdarpa(rathasya cudamanir ivo 'dayagirinagarajasya sve- 
taparavata iva 'mbaramahaprasadasya gaganasariddhautakumbha- 
sthalam ivai "ravatasya) bhagnasrmgapurana(g5mumdam) khamda 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts D, F. ^ Trichinopoly ed., darpaimn. 

5 Q,{. prdclmahildlaldta in Hall's manuscript D. 
* So also Hall's manuscript D. 

5 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara also 
omit mukura. 

^ So also Hall's manuscript D. 



176 VASAVADATTA 

iva (tara)svetagodhumasalin5 nabhahksetrasya malayajapimda- 
(pamdu)rajata(talavrmtam) iva siddharnganahastasrastam (kslna- 
rago bhagavan udu)patir ujjagama. [193] yas ca pumdarikam (l5- 
ka)l6canamadhukaranam sayanlyasaikatam [iva^] citta(raja^)ham- 
sanam sphatikavyajanam virahavahnlnam svetasanacakram [194] 
manmathasayakanam. atramtare 'bhisarikasartha(presltanam^) 
[195] priyataman* prati dutlnam dvyarthas [sersyah] saprapamca 
vi(hara)[i96]bhamguras (sam)vada babhuvuh. tathahi a(76)va- 
strikrtam atmanam [197] na "kalayasi tattvatah kamta. prastara 
iva kruro 'si na ca "karsaka[i98]cumbakadravakesv eko 'si bhra- 
mak5 'si param kitava. dharmarthanya[i99]prayuktah ksepanika 
iva mudha vahitataravaris tvam asi. sakhedam iva (tarn) manasa 
cimtayasi dur(labham) [janam]. (77) satvasara(citto) yo ripu- 
[aoojmamdalagrato nirvrtim upetya tisthati. sa khalu virah pra- 
ti[3oi]paksasya yas sampraharatah kumjaran nayati. dhrtoruka- 
ravalasamca[302]yo 'pi paramakamda eva sampatan mahapadam 
vigrahe(78)na labhate. [203] rajasena (rajase narahito) rahita dhru- 
vam. (asta)visarada [vijsaradabhravisada visadatmanlna(mahi- 
mana)mahimanaraksanaksama ksama[204]tilaka dhlratadhirata 
manasi (bhuta) 'bhutatabhutata (ca) vacasi. sa 'ha sena [205] sa 
'hasena kamala (kamalalaya yaya) 'jita sa tvadarpana darpanaka- 
ravimalasaya sayabja[vi^]nirjitakisala(79)ya salaya[2o6]mgulir 
(iva) vibhramena vibhramena [pratijgavaksasalakavivaram (prati) - 
vilokayamti [207] [vi](lokayamtritavinasa vina sapam anubhavati) 
duhkhani. jivanayaka jivanaya (kam iva) na ("srayati^) subha- 
gam. anya[2o8]sta 'vada 'satam (aham eva) dasatam purato bha- 
jami maitryat5 maitry ato [209] 'stu. amjasa ratas saratah kim 
api kamdarpakam darpakam na (cet) tanosi visesato (visesatah 
sthiram'^) eva maranam. sathadhiyam s5dhana ya(8o)sodhana 
[210] premaharya maharya (sama so^) 'tkataksaih kataksair avi- 

■^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F also omit iva. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts C, F, G. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G, H. . 

* Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ^d.., priyatamd. 

^ HalPs manuscripts A, B, C, D, F also omit vi. 

6 So also Hall's manuscripts C, G. 

■^ Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., visesatasthiravi. 

8 Cf. samdsanw in Hall's manuscripts C, D, F, H. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 177 

rbhutadasya 'stadasyah parijanah. kamalakrtinarinam kamala- 
krti na 'rinam [211] bhavata mukham ca malinitam. visvasya 
visvasya vyava(stham) samasadyasamasa fdya) 'neka(kalam^) sa- 
mgita(rasika)tanuse tanusekam (anamgasya) puspesupuspesu ruja 
tarasa jatarasa mamdaksamam(8i)da ksanam (api) [212] bhra- 
mamti muhyati. ka madhura 'dharena kamadhuradharena (yukta) 
rajo(raja)visesakena visesakena mukhemduna tava hrdi lagna 
[213] (mrdima)karena karena svedabimdupayodharena payodha- 
rena vaksahphalakamcanena jita 'navilakamcanena. kamadamna 
(82) madarunanetra smaramayam (rasamayamtam bhavamtam) 
adayam madayamti param akam itaram [214] param akamitaram 
vamchati harina ha 'rina stanakumbhena harina 'ksiruciharina 
caksusa [harina] (ca^). anamtaram dugdharnava(nimagnam) iva 
(sphatika)grhapravistam iva svetadvipa(nivistam) [215] iva jagad 
amumude. (tatah) kramena ca^ vighatamanadalaputakumudaka- 
nanakosamakaramdabimdusamddha ( samdranisyamd a svada^ma- 
da)mudita[mugdha]madhukarakulakala(rava)mukharitadig(amta- 
re^) camdrikapanabharalasacakdrakaminlbhir abhinamdit(agame) 
suratabhara[parisrama^]khinnapu!i [216] mdarajasumdansvedajala- 
kanika(83)paharini pra(vati'^) sayamtane taniyasi nisanisvasanibhe 
nabhasvati kamdarpaketus tamalikamakaramdasahay5 vasava- 
datta[janaka]nagaram ayasit. atha (sa pravisya) katakaika(dese 
vinihitam) [abhramlihasikharena sudhadhavalenai "kantaranivista- 
kanakamuktamarakatapadmaragasakalena vasavadatta[2 1 7]darsa- 
nartham avasthitadevataganene 'va salavalayena parigatam] (ani- 
l6llasita)nabhastaru(kusuma^)mamjaribhir iva tarjayamtibhir iva 
gagana(pura^)sriyam patakabhir upasobhamanam kanakasilapa- 
tt(amkana)prasrtabhih karpurakumkumacamdanailalavamga[ga- 
ndhodaka]parimalavahinibhih [vahinibhir ajnata](tatanikata- 

1 So also Hall's manuscript D, and the commentator Narasimha. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B. 

3 Trichinopoly ed. omits ca. 

^ So also Hall's manuscript C. 

5 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G. 

« Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, H also omit pari'srama. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts B, C. 

9 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G. 

N 



178 VASAVADATTA 

sphatika^ila^)sukhanisannanidraya[2i8]man(6jjata)prasada(sveta^)- 
paravatabhih prabhra^yattata[nikata]vitapi(suma)stabakitasalila- 
bhih anavaratamajjadunmajjad[mada^]yuvati[jana]ghanajaghan(a- 
sphalanocchvasita *) sikaranikarasnapita(tira ^) vedikabhih karpura- 
pura[viracita]pulina(talamsanna^) ninadanumiyamana(raj ahamsa- 
bhih) vika[ai9]canilotpala[kanana]darsita(karamdava)cakravaka- 
timira^amkabhih (yuvatibhir) iva supayodharabhih sugrivayuddha- 
(vrttibhir) iva kllalasnapitakumbhakarnabhih sagarakulabhumibhir 
iva sumdanpa(84)dapara[:22o]gasabalabhih [nava]nrpaticittavrtti- 
bhir iva (kulyayamanakarinibhih nadibhir) upasobhitam sikhara- 
gatamuktajalavyajena purayuvati[jana]darsan[akutuhal]agatain 
taraganam iv5 'dvahadbhih upamta[rj2i]nilinabhih kacakalasa- 
krtim udvahamtibhih sikhi(samhatibhir) udbhasitaih prasadair 
(upasobhamanam) [kvacid] anavaratadahyamanakrsn(agarudhu- 
pa'^mamdalaih) darsitakalajalada(sannaham^) kvacid [ati^Jgambhi- 
ramurajaravahuta(samada)nllakamtham sayamtanasamayam iva 
patitalokalocanam janakayajiiasthanam iva dar(6tsukita^°)[22a]ra- 
mam (manusam^^) iva 'bhinamditasuratam (aranyam iva 'nekasa- 
lasobhitam^^) nidhanam iva kautukasya (asthanam) iva srmgarasya 
kula(graham) iva (sakalavibhramanam) samketasthana[2iJ3]m iva 
saumdaryasya vasavadattabhavanam bhavanamdanaprabhavo da- 
da(85)r^a. dravasi drava(siddher agadita^^) capala capalayate kim 
esa [2^24] stabakas taba karnatah patito 'yam. surekhe (sukapo- 
larekhe) suraya [cita^*] suraya(cita^^) srTs tvam asi. (matte) kalahe 



1 So also Hall's manuscript D. ^ So also HalPs manuscripts B, C. 

2 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, H also omit mada. 

* Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, H also have ucchvasita. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, D, G. 

« So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

' Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, F, H also have dhilpa, and manuscripts C, E, G 
dhupadhuma. 

^ Cf. utsdham in Hall's manuscript D. 

9 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, H also omit ati. 

10 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H, and the commentator Narasitnha. 
^1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G, H. 
12 Cf. kdntdram iva 'nikaidlopa'sobhitam in Hall's manuscript D. 
'^ Cf. nigadite in Hall's manuscripts A, C, D, F. 
^* Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, F, H also omit citd. 
« So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 179 

kalahema(kamci)damakvanitalh smaram iva "hvayasi. malaye 
malayepsitam (kuru) drsai 'va 'dhigata 'si. kalike [225] kaliketum 
(imam) [mukharam munca mekhalam] srnumah kalavallaki(vi)- 
rutam mekhala me khala na bhavati tvam eva mukharataya 
[mu]kharataya ca. trapa(86)te 'tra (pateyam iti naga)kusumopa- 
(haresu^ skhalamti 'yam), tava kaitavakair alam (kalil5 nisvasair) 
vepathur eva "sayam vyanakti. vahati 'va hatir anamga[226]le- 
khe (tava vapuh) smarasayakanam tava (ca haralata vihita vihi- 
taya) te. (utkalike tav5) 'tkalika(bahule) vadane vada netra(payo- 
jakamte) kim upamanam i[227]mdur apy upayati. vasati 'va sa- 
tivrate tava hrdi ko 'pi satadha satadharasara vacas tava 'nubhu- 
tah. (keralike^ ralite) karakakarakalameghakhamdatulam (upa- 
yaty^) ulla(87)sit6tphullamallika(malahari tava) kumtalakalapah 
[tava yati*]. (kumtalike^ kumtalalamkrte na ca) purag5pura(gau- 
carah) sruyamte (sam)gitadhvanayah. kim iva kalpayasi ksanam 
iksanamilanad (asi^ catula[228]catulampatasakhljana 'si. surate 
surate) stanata stanatadanesu yat saukhyam [ta^Jlabdham sma- 
rata smaratapan5danam (tada kena viyukta^) 'si. kim (ucyate^) 
mahato mahato [dayito'^] dayitah [229] smarati sma ratipriyam 
tava kausalam. navani(88)(satana)kharanam nakharanam [vranah] 
smarajanyam sma rajanyam kurute (kurutena) rujam. [kim] te^^ lo- 
canabhyam locanabhyam (phalita)khilajaneksanadesah ksanadesah 
[230] kin na piyate. priyasakhi madanamalini (malini bimbadha- 
rasamgatyagecchaya) viragam kuru madhumadarunamalavikapo- 
la(komalalolada!a)mamdalataya lataya (ko visesas tvaya). kura- 
[23i]mgike kalpaya kuramga(sabebhyas^^) saspahkuram. kis5rike 
kara(89)ya (kisoram) pratyaveksam. taraiike taralaya krsn(aga- 
ru)dhupapatalam. karpurike (pamsulaya) karpuradhulibhih payo- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, C , D, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G. 

3 So also Hall's manuscript H. ^ Hall's manuscript H also omits tavaydti. 
5 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G. 

^ Trichinopoly ed., ayu '^ Hall's manuscripts D, E, G also omit tal, 

8 Hall's manuscript D and the commentator Narasimha also have viyuktd. 
^ Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed., ucyasi. 

10 Hall's manuscripts B, D, G also omit the first dayito. 

11 Srirangam text and Trichinopoly ed., tava, 

12 Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed,, sdkhebhyaL 

N 2 



i8o VASAVADATTA 

dharabharam. matamgike manaya matamgasisu(dhavanam). sa- 
silekhe (vi)likha lalatapatte sasi(rekham). ketakike samketaya 
ketaki(mamdapad5hajam). saku[:232]nike dehi krldasakunibhya 
aharam. madanamamjari (mamjiraya latamamdapam. kadalike 
vidalaya) kadaligrham. srmgaramamjari [sanjkalpaya srmgara- 
(racanam^. samjlvanike^) vitara jivamjlvakamithunaya (maiici^)- 
pallavam. pallavike pallavaya karpuradhulibhih krtrimaketakl- 
kananam. sahakaramamjari (sammarjaya sramodakabimdun) sa- 
hakara(saurabha)vyajanavatena. madanalekhe (vl)likha madana- 
lekham malayanllasya. ['2^^^ (makarike makaramkasobhite) dehi 
mrnalamkuram rajahamsa(sabebhyah). vilasavati vilasaya (90) 
mayura(kis5rakam). tamalike (lepaya) malayajarasena bhavana- 
vatam. kamcanike vikira (kasturika*)dravam kamcanamamdapi- 
kayam. pravalike secaya (ghu)srnarasena [bala]prava!akananam. 
ity anyonyam pranayapesalah pramada(jananam) alapakathas 
srnvan kamdarpaketuh makaramdena (samam tad bhavanam^) 
[manasy aho bhavananam atisayi saundaryam aho srngarakalake- 
likausalam tathahy ayam tatkalalilabahalavlralavimala[234]mala- 
vldasanakantikantidantidantaghatit5 mandapo 'sav api kanakasa- 
lakavinirmitayantrapanjarasamyatah kridasuka ityadi paricinta- 
yan] pravisya vyakaranene 'va saraktapadena (maha)bharatene 'va 
suparvana ramayanene Va sumdarakamdacaruna {2^s] jamghayu- 
galena virajamanam camd5vicitlm iva bhrajamanatanumadhyam 
naksatravidyam iva ganamyahastasravanam nyaya(vidyam) ivo 
'ddyotakarasvarupam (satkavikavyaracanam) iva 'lamkara(prasa- 
(9i)dhitam^) upanisa[236]dam iva (sanamdam raviprabham iva 
lokam) uddyotayamtim dvijakulasthitim iva carucaranam vim- 
dhyagirisriyam iva sunitambam (rohinim) iva gurukalatratayo 'pa- 
sobhitam satakoti(murtim^) iva mustigrahya[tanu^]madhyam pri- 
yamgusyamasakhlm iva priyadarsanam brahmadattamahisim iva 



1 So also Hall's manuscripts D, E, G. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts D, H. 

2 So also the commentator Narasimha ; Trichinopoly ed. and Hall's manuscripts 
C, D, F, G, H have marua. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts F, G, H. 

^ Hall's manuscripts A, D also have tad bhavanam. 

« Qi. p-asddhikdm in Hall's manuscript D. "^ So also Hall's manuscript A. 

* Hall's manuscripts D, E also omit tami. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE t8i 

somaprabham [237] diggajakarenukam iva 'nupamam (revam) iva 
(sarmadam) tamalapatraprasadhitam (ca) asvatarakanyam iva ma- 
dalasam vasavadattam dadarsa. atha tarn [priti]vispharitena 
caksusa pibatah (92) kamdarpaketoh jahara cetanam murcha[ve- 
gah]. tarn (anu) vasavadatta mumurcha. atha makaramdasa- 
khijana(prayatnat) labdhasamjnav (etav) ekasanam alamcakratuh. 
[238] (atha^) vasavadattayah pranebhyo 'pi garlyasi (sakhl^) kala- 
vati nama kamdarpaketum uvaca. aiyaputra na 'y^-ip visrambha- 
(kathanam^) avasarah (atd"*) laghutaram eva ('bhidhiyate-^). tva- 
tkrte ya 'naya (yatana) 'nubhuta sa yadi nabhah patrayate sagaro 
[239] (melamamdayate) brahma[yate] (lipikarayate bhujamgapa- 
tir^ va kathakayate tatha) 'py anekair yugasahasrair abhilikhyate 
(va na) va. tvaya (ca) rajyam ujjhitam. kim bahuna 'tma ('syas) 
samkate samaropitah [eva^]. (yai) 'sa 'smatsvamiduhita [pitra] 
(prabhatayam^ [240] sarvaryam pitra) yauvanati(krama^)samkina 
hathena vidyadharacakravartin5 vijayaketoh put ray a puspaketave 
pani(grahanaya) datavye "ti (niscila^^). anaya (ca 'smabhis saha 
sammamtrya) "I5citam adya yadi tarn janam adaya (na "gacchati 
tamalika) tada 'vasyam eva ("srayasa asrayitavya) iti. [tad asyah 
sukrtavasena mahabhage 'mam bhumim anupraptah.] tad atra 
yat sampratam tatra bhavan eva pramanam ity uktva virarama. 
atha kamdarpaketur (api) bhitabhita iva (pranaya^^)namd(amrta^^)- 
sagaralaharibhir apluta iva [bhuvanatrayarajyabhisikta iva] vasa- 
va[24i]dattaya saha sammamtrya makaramdam (93) vartanvesa- 
naya tatrai "va nagare niyujya (bhujagene-^^) 'va sadagatyabhimu- 
khena (saritpulinene 'va suktisobhitena vimdhyavipinene Va sri- 
vrksalamchitena hamsene 'va manasagatina vanaspatine "va ska- 
mdhasdbhitena vajrene 've 'mdrayudhena^*) manojavanamna tura- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B. 

2 So also Hall's manuscript D. ^ go also Hall's manuscripts D, E, H. 
* So also Hall's manuscripts E, F. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts E, F. 
6 Cf. bhujagapatir in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G. 

' Hall's manuscripts D, H also omit eva. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts D, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 

® Cf. kramadosa in Hall's manuscripts D, H. ^o So also Hall's manuscript D. 

11 Cf. sapranayama in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

12 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G. 
" So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, F, G, H. 

i< Cf. mahodadhipulinene ''va suktisobhitena vitidhyavipinene ''va b-lvrksaldhksithia 



iSa vAsavadattA 

gena taya (vasavadattaya) saha (puran niragat^. tatah^) krame- 
na [ca] (gavyutimatram adhvanam gatva nara^)jamgalakabalan- 
(artham) mi!itanissamkakamkaku[242]lasamkulena ardhadagdha- 
citacakrasimasimayamana ( vasavisra) vikatakatatrsnacatulakatapu - 
tanottala(talu)ravabhIsanena sulasikharar6pitasamkita[varna]ka- 
rna(nasa)ccheda(patita*)rudhirapatala(patanatamkaritakarakotika- 
rparakaralakonapanrttatumulena bambhara!ikelisambhara)bharita- 
bhumibhaga(bhibhatsena) katagnidahyamana(catula^catatkara)- 
[243]nr(kar5ti)tamkara(bhairavena vivrtolkamukhamukhojjvalita- 
jvalanajvalajatilena amtratamtukalilakapalapralamba(94)damara- 
dhakiniganakrtakunapavibhagak5lahalena ardrasiraracitavivaha- 
mamgalapratisarapi^acamithunapradaksinlkrlyaman acitagnina^) 
sulapanine Va kapalavali[bhasma]siva(bahubhuti)bhiijaga(raja)va- 
ruddhadehena purusatisayene 'va 'nekamamdalakrtasevena (da- 
mdakaranyene Va kabamdhadhisthitena cakravartine Va 'neka- 
naremdraparivrtena tridivene Va samcaradbalarina) smasanavatena 
(nirgatya nimisa)matrad eva 'nekasatayojanam (adhvanam gatva 
punar api) pralayakalavelam iva samuditarkasamuham naga[:244]- 
(rajya'^)sthitim iva 'namtamulam sudharmam iva svacchamdasthi- 
ta(95)kausikam satpurusasevam^ iva [bahu^]sriphaladhyam bha- 
ratasamarabhumim iva duraprarudharjunam pulomakulasthitim iva 
sahasranetr5cit(emdranim sura)pala[citta^^]vrttim iva (darsita^^)- 
ganikarikam sajja[245]nasampadam iva vikasitasokasaralapunna- 

varunahamsene ^va mdnasagatind Wanyene 'va gandakaiobhithia vajrhie ^ve 
^ndrdyudhena in Hall's manuscript D. 

1 Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, H, and the commentator Narasirnha also have 
niragdt. 

2 So also Hall's manuscript D. 

2 Hall's manuscript D also has nara ; cf. nava in the commentator Narasirnha. 

* Cf. chedagala in Hall's manuscript D. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts E, G. 

^ Cf. vivrtolkdmukhaniukhojjvalajjvalanaj'odldjdlajatilend '^ntratantraprolakalita- 
kapdlakutapralambiprdlambiddmaraddkiniganakrtarupavibhdgakoldhalhid ^'I'draiard- 
citavivdhamandalapratisarapisdcaniithMnapradaksimkriyamdrMcitdcakrdnalena in 
Hall's manuscript D ; Srirangam text and Trichinopoly ed. also have dakint and 
kriyamdna. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscript D. ^ Grantha ed., sevanam. 

^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H, and the commentators Narasirnha and 
Jagaddhara also omit bahu. 

^^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, F, G, H also omit citta. 

1^ So also Hall's manuscript D. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 183 

gam ^isujanalllam iva krtadhatridhrtim kvacid raghavacittavrttim 
iva vaidehl(mayam) [246] kvacit kslrasamudramathanavelam iv6 
'jjrmbhamanamrtam kvacin narayana(murtim^) iva svaccham(96)- 
daparajitam kvacid valmlkisarasvatim iva dar^iteksvakuvamsam 
(kvacil) lamkam iva bahupalasasevitam^ (kvacid dhartarastra)se- 
nam iva 'rjunasaranikaraparivaritam (kvacin) narayanamurtim iva 
bahurupam [247] (kvacit) sugrlvasenam iva panasa(na}a)kumudase- 
vitam (kvacid) avidhavam iva simduratilakabhusitam pravalabha- 
ranam ca (kvacit) kurusenam ^ ivo 'lukadr6[248]nasakunisanatham 
dhartarastr(amcitam) ca amla(97)najati(vi)bhusitam api (viruddha*)- 
vamsam darsitabhayam api vibhisanam satatahitapathyam api 
[249] pravrddhagulmam satpadavya(ptam) api dvipadanakulam dvi- 
jakulabhusitam api (na)kulinavamsam vimdhyatavim (pra^)vivesa. 
(atramtare^) tayor nidram adaya (nisa^ 'jagama. tatah) kramena 
ca kala(kaivartakena) tamisra(navam) praksipya gaganamahasara- 
(98)si sajlva[25o](saphara)nikara iva [apa^]hriyamane taragane 
(samdhya)raktamsuk[apat]e visamaprarudhabisalata^ara(yamtra)- 
nugatasatapatrapustakasanathe makaramdabimdusamdohani- 

rbharapanamattamadhukara[sandramandra] (mamjuravaih) sva- 
dharmam iva pathati vikacakamalakarabhiksau krsivalene Va ka- 
lena timirabija(nikaresv) iva madhukaresu [kumudaksetresu] ma- 
dhurasakardamitaparagapamkesu ghanaghatamanada!a(putesu^ 
kumudakaraksetresu) [bhramaresu vyajat [251] pankajesu] 'pyama- 
nesu rajomurmurasanathamadhukarapatala(dhuma^°)nugat6dda- 
mdapumdarikavyajad dhupa[patala]m iva bhagavate kiranamaline 
prayacchamtyam kamalini(tapasyam^^) rajanlvadhukara[tala^2]- 
dvayocchalitapatatprabhatamusalahatiksatamtare ulukhala iva ca- 

1 So also Hall's manuscript E. 

2 Trichinopoly ed. omits kvacil . . . °sevitam. 

' Trichinopoly ed. omits iva panasa° . . . kurusenam. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara 
and Narasimha. 

5 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H, and the commentators 
Jagaddhara and Narasimha. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscript D. ^ Hall's manuscript C also omits apa. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, C. '^^ So also Hall's manuscript A. 

11 Cf. kanialinitapasvinydm in Hall's manuscripts A, C, F. 

^3 Hall's manuscripts D, H also omit tala. 



i84 VASAVADATTA 

mdra(mamdale) khamdana(vi^)kirnesu [iva] tamdulesv (iva) tara- 
ganesu (ni^jmilatsu samdhyatamramukhena [iva] vasaravanarena 
nabhastarum (aruhya) sakhabhya iva karnpita(99)bhy6 digbhyd 
vikacaprasuna(nikara^) iva taragane (phala ive 'mdumamdale*) 
[ca ni]pata[a5a]ti tara[ganasali]tamdula^(sabalita)nabh5 'mganam 
sphuradaruna(kirana)cuda(cakra)caruvadane vasarakrkavakau ca- 
ritum avatarati mat(samgamad^) atipravrddhd varuni(samgamad) 
dvijapatir esa (patati) *ti hasanntyam iva "khamdal(asayam) aru- 
nakesari(kharanakharapata)nihatamdhakarakarimdrarudhiradhara- 
bhir iv5 'dayagirisikhara(gairika)niijhara[dhautadhatu]dharabhir 
iva (tvamgat)turamgakharakhuraputapatitapadmaragacchatabhir 
iva [^53] [kesarikaratalahatamattamatangottamafigasangaladasra- 
prasarinibhir iva] udayacalakutakotiprarudhajapakusumakamti- 
bhir iva (purvagiri'^kesaricaranatalahatamattamatamgottamamga- 
vigaladasrgdharasarinibhir iva) tribhuvanakarya(sampadana^tura)- 
ragarasair iva raktamamdale tarakumuda(vana^)grahanaya prasa- 
ritahasta iva kumkum(arunaih kiranaih kanakadarpana^^ iva) pra- 
clvilasinyah purvacalabhogimdraphanopale gaganemdranilataru- 
[kanaka][254]kisalaye nabhonagara(pragdvara)kanaka(purna)ku- 
mbhe taptal5hakumbhakare praci(kumari^^)lalatatata(ghatitaku- 
mkuma^Hilaka)birndau samdhya(bala^^)lataikakusu(ioo)me mamji- 
stha[rakta]pattasutra(pimda)sadrse samdhy(arunasutragrathita)- 
pracl(vadhu^*kamcl)kamcanadinaracakra iva (kumara iva samhrta- 
tarake padmanabha ivo 'llasat^^padme adhvaga iva cchayapriye 
sakra iva gopatau udayagiri)dhaturagarunadiggajapadatalanukarini 



I So also Hall's manuscript E. ^ go ^Iso Hall's manuscript D. 
3 Cf. nicaya in Hall's manuscript D. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts D, E, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 
5 Cf. tdrdganatandula in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts D, H. 
'^ So also Hall's manuscript D. 

8 Cf. sampddanaprabhd in Hall's manuscripts D, H. 
3 So also Hall's manuscript D. 
10 Hall's manuscript D also has kanakadarpane. 

II So also Hall's manuscript A. 

12 Cf. tatakuhkumdmbubinddu in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C,F, G. 

^3 Cf. sandhydpravdlalatd in Hall's manuscripts E, H. 

^* Cf. iacivadhiikdiicana in Hall's manuscript A. 

^^ Tel. ed. 61, Grantha ed., and Srirangam text, Hlasita. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 185 

(prabhuta)timirataskare (sam)udayam arohati (bhagavati bhasvati) 
mamjistha(nikara^) iva diggajesu mahabharata[samarabhumi]ru- 
dhirodgara iva kuruksetresu ['Z^^] sura(dhanuh)kamti(vl)lepa iva 
jalada(cchadesu) kasayapata iva sakyasrama(sakhasu) kausumbha- 
raga iva dhvajapatapallavesu phalapaka iva karkamdhusu kumku- 
ma[cchata]rasa iva vy6mamahasaudh(amgane^) samcaradaruna- 
(yavanika)pata iva kala(mahanatasya^) [bala^]prava!a(bhaga)rune 
prasarati balatape ksanena [ca] catucatulacakravakahrdaya(k6sa)- 
samtapaharanad iva dahana(pratapa)pravesad iva dinanathaka- 
mtopal[anal]asamgad ivo 'snimanam usnarasmer asrayati rasmi- 
sanicaye kamdarpaketus sarvaratrajagarana(vasad) aharasunya- 
(paravasa)sarlrataya niscetan5 'nekay6janasa[256]t(adhva)bhrama- 
nakhinn5 vasavadattaya 'py evamvidhaya saha lata(grahe) mam- 
damarutamdolitakusumaparima ( i o i ) lalubdhamugdha (mukhara)- 
paribhramatbhramarajhamkaramanohare tatkala(sulabhaya^) ni- 
draya grhito nispamdakaranagramas susvapa. tato vaniji Va pra- 
saritambare mahadavanala iva sakalakasthoddipini (kalpavrksa iva 
sarvasaprasadhake) patamgamamdale (madhyamnabhassthalasya^) 
'rudhe [katham api] kamdarpaketuh (prabuddhah'^) priyaya vina- 
krtam lata (graham) avalokya (co) 'tthaya ['ZS?^ [ca] tata ito datta- 
drstih ksanam (vitapisu) ksanam latamtaresu ksanam [tarusikharesu 
ksanam] (adhah)kupesu ksanam (urdhvatarusikharesu) ksanam su- 
skaparnarasisu ksanam akasa(talesu) ksanam diksu (ksanam ^) vidi- 
ksuca bhramann anavarata[virahanala^]dahyamanahrday5 vilalapa. 
(ha) priye vasavadatte dehi me darsanam [258] (krtam) parihasena 
amtarhita 'si tvatkrte yani [maya] duhkhany anubhutani tesam 
tvam eva pramanam. ha priya(sakha^'^) makaramda pasye ('dam) 
daivadui-vilasitam kim (pui*vam maya krtam anavadatam) karma, 
aho (vipako niyateh) aho duratikrama kalagatih aho grahanam 

^ Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed. omit nikara. 
2 So also Hall's manuscript B. 
2 Cf. kdlanatakasya in Hall's manuscript D. 
^ Hall's manuscripts D, E, H also omit bdla, 
^ So also Hall's manuscripts D, E. 
^ Cf. nabhomadhyam in Hall's manuscript E. 
'^ Qi. prdpiabodhah in Hall's manuscripts E, H. 
^ So also Hall's manuscript B. 

^ Hall's manuscripts A, C, E, F, G, H also omit virahdnala. 
^° So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G. 



1 86 VASAVADATTA 

atikatu kataksa(patanam^) aho visa(drsata) gurujana^isam aho 
dussvapnanam durnimittanam ca (phalam) sarvatha na (kascid^) 
ag6car5 [259] (bhavitavyanam). kiin na samyag agamita (vidya) 
kim [na] yathavad (anaradhita) guravah kin n5 'pasita vahnayah 
[kim adhiksipta bhudevah^] kin na pradaksinikrtas surabhayah 
kin na krtam [^^60] (saranyesv) abhayam. (102) iti bahuvidham 
vilapan (maranecchuh*) daksinena kananam nirgatya navya(nala)- 
naladanalininicula[picula] (vidala) vakula(ciribilvabahulena ^ pracura- 
viracitavividh6)tajakutajaruddhopakamthena s5tkamthabhrmga- 
[!26 ijraja [rasitasundara] sumdaii (krtasvada) vitata (cutavratati) vra- 
tavarana [taruna] varuna^ (taru ) skamdhasannaddhabhrmga ( gdlena ) 
golamgulabhagnagalanmadhu [ccha [;^6!2]tramadhu] patalarasasara- 
(slkara)siktatarutalena (pravrddha'^narikelakamkelirajatalitalata- 
mala^)himtalapunnagakesara(nagakesaraghanasarena) mallika(ke- 
taki)kovidar(arkaparnajambu)bi[:263]japurajambira[jambu]gulma- 
gahanena (pavanasamvahitanekapanasavitapivitapena) [apratyu- 
ha]datyuha(kuhakuharava)bharitanadi(tatanikumjapumjena) pu- 
mjit (5t)kamthakalakam (103) thadhyasit[oddam] asahakarapallave- 
na [capalakulaya]kukkutakutumbasam(vasito)tkat(aneka)vitapena 
korakanikurumbaromamcitakuravakarajina raktasokapallavalava- 
nya(vi)lipyamanadasadisa pravikasitakesara(kusuma^)rajovisara- 
(dhusaritaparisarena) paraga(pumja)pimjara(simduvara^°rajyama- 
na)madhukaramamjusimjitajanitajanamuda (lavamgacampakama- 
dhukakrtamala^^lodhrakarnikarakadambakadambakena) madajala- 
mecakita (gamdakasa) mucukumda [ska [264] ndhajkamda (kathya- 
mana^^)nissamkakarikata^^[vikata]kamdutinakatipayadivasaprasu- 

1 Cf. patanam in Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, F. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, E, G, H. 

^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H also omit kim adhiksipta bhiidevdh. 

^ So also Hall's manuscript D, 

5 Hall's manuscripts C, D, G also have bahulena. 

^ Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., vdruna. 

'^ Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed. omit pravrddha. 

^ Cf. narikelakarakelirdjatdlitdla in Hall's manuscript D. 

^ Cf. pravikasitakusumakesara in Hall's manuscripts A, B. 
1° So also Hall's manuscript A. 
^1 Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., madhukaiamdla. 
^2 Cf. mathyamdna in Hall's manuscripts A, B, F. 
^' Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., ni's'samkakarata. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 187 

takukkuti(kutl^)krta[kutaja]k6tarena catakasamcaryamanacatula- 
vacatacatakairakriyamanacatuna sahacari(sahacaranacumcura)ca- 
kora(camcuna) saileya(sugamdhi)silatalasu[ij65]khasayita(sasasisu- 
rasina) sephalikasiphavivaravisrabdhavartamana(gaudheya)rasina 
niratamkaramku(nikarena) niraku]anakula[kula]keHna kalakokila- 
kulakaba!ita(cuta)kalik5dgamena sahakararamaromamthayamana- 
(camara)yuthena sravanaharisa(nida^)girinitambanirjharaninada- 
(sravanotsukanidranamda^)mamdayamanakarikulakarnatajadum- 
dubhi(dhvanina) samasannakinnarigita(sravanaramamana)ruruvi- 
sarena [366] (kuhari(i04)ta)haridradravarajyamanavarahapotapo- 
trapaHna gumja(kumja*pumjaguhijahakajatena^ damsa)damsana- 
kupita (kapi ^) pota ( petacapetaka "^ ) patita (pataliputakitasamghen a ) 
kulisasikharakharanakharapracay apracamdacapet ( a) patitam a 1 1 a - 
matamga (mada) cchatacchurltacarukesara (bhara) bhasurakesarika- 
dambena mahasagarakacchopamtena katipayaduram (adhvanam^) 
gatva aticapala(varipracayaprahataprapatataya) tamda[267]v6- 
ddamda(dossamda^)khamdaparasuvidarnbanapamditam varum ^^- 
vijayapatakabhir iva sesakulanirmoka[manju]mamjaribhir iva (su- 
dhasahacaiibhir iva jy5tsnasahodaiibhir iva) sasamka(mamdala)- 
paramanu(samtatibhir) iva laksm!lila(darpanadharinlbhir) iva jala- 
devata(kuca^^)camdana(dharatarpana)vicchittibhir iva phenaraji- 
bhir upamta(ramaniyam) aparam iva gagana(talam) avan(italam) 
avatirnam [arnava] (acchajala)ducchalacchikara(nikarena) nabha- 
scaran muktaphalair iva vilobhayamtam abhayabhyarthanagata- 
neka(paksati)ksitidharabharitakuksibhagam sagarasuta(visarasa- 
mud)khatam (varijatamukhodbhasitaparijatam) abhijatamanira- 
tnakaram kari(io5)makara[ku[268]la]samkulam (sakuni)kulakaba- 

1 So also Hall's manuscript C, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. 

^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, F, G also have nidrdnanda. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G, H ; cf. gunjapunjakimja in Hall's 
manuscript D. 

^ Hall's manuscripts D, E, F also hzye Jdhakajdtena. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. 

■^ Hall's manuscript D also has capetaka. 

* Cf. katipayddhvdnam in Hall's manuscript K 

^ Cf. dohkhanda in Hall's manuscripts A, C, D, E, F. 
i*^ Srirangam text and Trichinopoly ed., vdruna. 
11 So also Hall's manuscripts B, C, F. 



i88 VASAVADATTA 

lanabhilasasamcarannakracakram (stimitatiml)timimgilakulam (ka- 
dali vanavata ) vilulit ( aila) lavalilavamga ( mat ulumga ^ ) gulma ( gah a - 
nam) urmimaruta(marmantataralatar6) ttala (tali^ vanacarita^)jala- 
manusamithunam^dita[salila]pu!inabalasaivalam pravalamkurako- 
tipati tamukhakhin nasamkhanakha ( mukharakharasikharavi ) 1 ik h i - 
tatata(rekham) khagesvaragotrapatrarathapatalakalilasalilam adya 
'py anirmuktamamdaramathanasamskaram iva "vartabhramtibhih 
sapa[:i69]smaram iva (sitaphenasamcayaih) sasura{gamdham) ivai 
("laparimalaih saghosam) iva garjitaih sakhedam iva (naganisva- 
saih) sabhru(bhamgam'^) iva taramgaih salanastambham iva rama- 
setuna kumbhinasikuksim iva lavanotpattisthanam vyakaranam 
iva [vitata^jstrinadikrtyabahulam rajakulam iva drsyamanama- 
hapatram hastibamdham iva vangatanekana[:^7o]ga(io6)mucya- 
mana(sut)karam visvamitraputravargam iva ambhoja(caru)ma- 
tsyopasobhitam satpurusam iva g6tr(atisayam) sadhum iva 'cyu- 
tasthitiramaniyam sunr(patim^) iva sajjanakramakaratn krtama- 
nyum iva karatoyapluta[27i]mukham virahinam iva camdanoda- 
kasiktam vilasinam iva narmadanugatam (rasim iva saminakuli- 
ram srmgarinam iva 'nekamuktalamkrtam) uddhrtakalakutam api 
prakatitavisarasim ativrddham api sumdari[pan]vrt(op'^)akamtham 
(107) surotpattisthanam apy asuradhisthitam jala[27ij][ni]dhim 
apasyat. acimtayac ca aho me krtapakarena 'pi vidhina upakrtir 
eva krta yad ayam locanagocaratam (gatas) samudrah tad atra 
deham (tyajami) [priyavirahagnim nirvapayami]. yady apy ana- 
turasya ("tma^)tyag6 na vihitah tatha 'pi (khalu nah karyam) na 
[khalu] sarvas (sarvam^) karyam (eva) karoty [ity^^] asare sam- 
sare. kena kin [zj^^ (nama^^) na krtam. tathahi gurudara(hara- 



^ So also Hall's manuscripts E, F, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 
^ Srirangam text and Trichinopoly ed., td/T. 
^ Hall's manuscript D also has carita. 
* So also Hall's manuscripts A, D, E. 
^ Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, F, G, H also omit vitata. 
6 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, E, F, G. 

"^ Qi. parivrtopakantham in Tel. ed. 61, Grantha ed., and Hall's manuscripts B, E. 
^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. 
^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. 
^^ Trichinopoly ed., iha. 
^' So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, H. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 189 

nam^) dvijarajo 'karot. pururava brahmanadhanatrsnaya vina- 
nasa. nahusas (sakra)ka!atra(dohali bhujamgatam ayasit). ya- 
yatih (krtapurohitasuta)panigrahanah [274] papata. sudyumnah 
strimaya (eva) 'bhavat. somakasya prakhyata (jagati^) jamtuva- 
dhanirghrnata. purukutsah kutslta (eva 'bhavat). kuvalayasvo 
'sva[2^75]tarakannyam api (jagama). nrgah krkalasatam agamat. 
(nalah kalina 'bhibhutah.) samvaran5 mitraduhitari viklabatam 
(agamat). [276] dasarathah (abhi)staramonmadena mrtyum ava- 
pa. kartaviryo [g5]brahmanapidaya pamcatvam ayasit. [yudhi- 
sthirah samarasirasi satyam utsasarja.] (samtanur-"^) ativyasanat 
(vane*) vllalapa. (tad) ittham na 'sty (eva jagaty) akalamkah ko 
'pi. tad aham api deham (utsr(io8)jaml) 'ty (evam) vi[277]cim- 
tya kurara[khara]nakharasikharakhamdita(prthu!a ^)prthuroma- 
[bilamaviralasakulakula]salka(samkulam^ samkalita)jalanakula(ku- 
lo*^) ccara (saram) krostukulotsrstavikatakarkatakarparaparampara- 
parigata(pramtam^ atitarala)jalarayalu!itacatulasapharakulakaba- 
lanakr tamat inibhrtabakasakunini vaha (bahu) dhavalitaparisaram 
aticapalajalakapikulaviharana(tulira^)salilakana[278]nlkara(panmi- 
lanasisiritatamalatalam anudina)nipatadatitaruna[vana]mahisaga- 
valasikhara(vi)likhitavisamatatam anavaratacaradasitamukhacara- 
navihaga(vara)nivaha(madhukara)ninada(mukharita)himakara(ki- 
rananikara)[279]rucirajalamanuja(gana)sayanamrdita(tatadharani)- 
talam ati(bahu!a)mada[jala]sabaja(kata^°)tatakari[vara]satanipatita- 
madhukara(nikaram^^) atijavanapavanavidhutajala(vighatana)nipa- 
tita(phani)ganapangataparisaram jalanidhi(jalagata)bhujaganirmu- 
ktanirmokapattam [iva] darpanam iva vasumdharayah sphatikaku- 
ttimam iva varunasya (kamalavanam iva sapadmaragam vanapra- 

1 So also Hall's manuscripts, A, B, C, D, F, G, H. 

2 So also Hall's manuscript D. 

2 So also Hall's manuscripts A, C, F, H. 

* So also Hall's manuscripts A, F, H. ^ go also Hall's manuscripts B, D. 

6 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, H, and the commentators Jagaddhara 
and Narasimha. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and the commentator 
Narasirnha. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts B, C, D, F, G, H. 

3 Tel. ed. 6i, Grantha ed., Trichinopoly ed., and Srirangam text, tulita. 
1° This reading is also recorded by Sivarama, ad loc. 

^^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, F. 



I90 VASAVADATTA 

desam iva savidrumalatam kataram^ iva sadaram visnum iva 'ne- 
kamuktopetam) pulina(talam) asasada. tatah krtasnanadi(sakala- 
krty5 jalanidhi)jalam avataritum arebhe sarlratyagaya. atha sa- 
nugrahesu grahesu nirmatsare(i09)su matsyesu aksudresu ksudr(a- 
mdesu anicchesu) [280] kacchapesu akruresu nakresu abhayam- 
karesu makaresu amaresu (simsumaresu akasat^) sarasvati samu- 
dacarat. arya kamdarpaketo punar api tava (priyasamagamo) 
bhavisyaty acirena tad virama maranavyavasayad iti. (so 'pi) tad 
upasrutya maran(arambliad) virarama^. [punah priyaya sama- 
gamecchaya sarlrasthitihetum aharam cikirsur mahasagarakaccho- 
pantabhuvam jagama.] atha tata itah paribhraman phalamula- 
dina vane (vartayan*) [kiyantam] kalam (anekam) ninaya [ka- 
ndarpaketuh]. ekada (tu'^) katipaya(divasa^)pagame kakaliga- 
yana iv5 [281] ('pasamrddha''')nimnaganadah (sayamtana)samaya 
iva nartitanllakamthah kumaramayura iva (samarudha)sarajanma 
[mahajtapasvi Va prasamitarajah prasarahtapasa iva dhrtajalada- 
karakah pralayakala iva darsitanekataranivibhramah nirupa(dra- 
va)kanana(pra^)desa iva ghanot(se[!z82]kita)saramgah revatikara- 
pallava iva halidhr(iio)tikarah (lamkesvara iva sameghanadah 
vimdhya iva ghanasyamah^ sam)ajagama varsasamayah. (vi)- 
bhinna[megha]nilotpalakanana(nile) kridasarasi Va nabhasi sma- 
rasya (kanaka) rat na(naur) iva jalada(kala)laksmlmatamgakanya- 
nartanarajju[283]r iva nabhassaudhatorana(ratna)malike Va pra- 
vasata nidagha(kalakamtena dyustri)payodhare datt[a smara- 
nay-^^](anakhapad)avalir iva gaganalaksmi(bamdhura)rasanamale 
Va nabhomamdara[taru'^^]sumdarakalik[amal]e Va ratinakhamarja- 
naratna(sila)salake Va ratna(saktir) iva^^ (vilasayastir iva) kusu- 

1 Trichinopoly ed., kdntdram. ^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, F, H. 

2 Cf. virardma marandrambhdt in Hall's manuscripts C, D, E. 

4 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, F, H. 

5 So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, H. 
^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, F, H. 

' Cf. samrddha in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, Trichinopoly ed., and 
Srirangam text. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts F, G, 

^ Cf. rdvaiui iva sameghanddo vindhyagirir iva saghana in Hall's manuscript C. 
1° Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, F also omit smarandya. 
^1 Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, G, H also omit taru, 
^2 Trichinopoly cd. omits ratna'saktir iva. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 191 

marketer imdradhanurlata raraja. ati(trsna)vega[ni]pitajala(ni)- 
dhijala^amkhamalam [iva] ba[284]lakacchalad udvamann (iva) 
adrsyata jala(dharanikarah). pitaharitaih (krsnakedarikagosthisu) 
samutpatadbhih (jatusaMurodarair) iva dardura(sisukair) naya- 
dyutair iva cikrida (vidyuta samam^ ghanakalakamtah). ravidl- 
pa(kajjalitamegha)nikas6pale [iva] meghasamaya(svarna)kara- 
(gharsitasvarnarekhe) 'va (tatid) asobhata. virahinam hrdayam 
(vidaritum) [285] karapatram iva (krtam) kusumayudhasya (kru- 
(iii)ra%aitaka)cchadam (abhasata). [jaladadaruni lolatadillata- 
karapatradarite pavanaveganirdhutas curnacaya iva jalarenav5 
babhuh.] vicchinnadigvadhuharamukta(nikara) iva kharapavana- 
vega(bhramita) ghana(ghata)ghattanasamcurnitataranikara iva tri- 
bhuvanavijigisor makaradhvajasya prasthanalajamjalaya iva ka- 
raka vyarajamta. (navasadvalam semdrakopamahimahilaya la- 
ksarasamkitam stanottariyam iva 'laksyata. meghakumbhasali- 
laih prthivlnayikam snapayitva pravrtcetikayam gatayam svac- 
cham ambaram darsayamti saraccetika samajagama^.) anamta- 
ram (sukhamjane) nirbhara[286] (bhara^)dvajadvijavacata(vitapi)- 
vitape (patutaraprabhaprabhato 'd)bhramtasukakulakalama(keda- 
ra)prave^it(avesa)rajahamse kamsaratidehadyutidyutale hamsa- 
(kula ')tulita(rajaj ^)jalamuci samdrikrt(emdumahasi) kamuka(jana- 
[iz87]mudita)[madhura]madhutrnavirudhi (sarasa^)sarasarasitasa- 
rakasare [sobhana ^°]kaserukamdalubdhap6tripotrod(ghatasarasa- 
tatabhaga)cakitacatake [saiicaranmatsyaputrikapatripatalamadhu- 
radhvanivihitamudi kadarthitakadambe kambudvisi prasrtabisa- 

^ Trichinopoly ed., makara. 

2 Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, F, H, and the commentator Jagaddhara also have 
jdtusa ; cf. the les-ding j'd^ztsdzr recorded by Sivarama, ad loc. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, E, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 

* Trichinopoly ed., krurafn. 

^ Cf. navasadvalam sendragopam mahimahildydh 'sukasydmalam IdksdrasaldncJii- 
tastanottariyajn iva 'laksyaia. tnegkakunwiasalildih prthivTndyikdm snapayitva 
prdvrtcestdngatdydm taiali svaccham ambaram darsayanti sarannadi samdjagdma in 
Hall's manuscript C ; Trichinopoly ed. also has iddvalam and kopam. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, F. 

■^ So also Hall's manuscripts, A, B, D, H. 

8 So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, E, F, G, H. 

^ So also Hall's manuscript D. 

10 Hall's manuscripts A, C, D, E, F, H also omit 'sobhana. 



192 VASAVADATTA 

prasune] viratavaride [:^88] tarataratarake (varunitilaka)camdra- 
masi (svadurasavile) sphurita^saphara[cakra]kabalananibhrta(na- 
rukabakalike) mukamamdukamamdale samk5citakamcukini ka- 
mcanacchedagaura(g5dhumaka)salisalini (ut)kr5sa(i 1 2)dutkrose 
surabhi [gandhi^] saugamdhikagamdha (hariniharinasvadaradalita)- 
kumudamadini [kaumudlkrtamudi nirbarhabarhini nihkujatkoya- 
stike dhrtadhartarastre hrstakalamagopikagitasukhitamrgayu- 
the kathikrtayuthike mlayamanamalatimukule bandhukaban- 
dhave sanjatasujatake visutritasautramadhanusi smerakasmlrara- 
jah[:i89]punjapinjaritadasadisi vikasvarakamale] saratsamayara- 
mbhe (vijrmbhamane) kamdarpaketus (tata itah) paribhraman 
(kamcic chilamaya)putnkam drstva [kautukena m5hena s5kave- 
gena mama piiyanukarini 'ti] karena pasparsa. atha sa (drsta)- 
matrai (Va) sila[sva]bhavam utsrjya [punar^] vasavadattasvaru- 
pam (pra)pede. tarn (ava)lokya kamdarpaketuh [amrtarnava- 
magna iva] su(drdham) alimgya (priye vasavadatte kim etad iti) 
papraccha. (sa pratyuvaca.) aryaputra apunyaya (mamdabha- 
gyaya mama) krte mahabhago ['Zgo] (bhavan utsrsta)rajya ekaki 
(paribhraman)jana* iva (avanmanasa)g5caram duhkham anuba- 
bhuva. [atha^] upavasadina (trsature bhavati nidrasamte^ pra- 
thamaprabuddha 'ham bhavatah phalamuladikam'^ aharisyami) 
'ti vicimtya phal(ady)anvesanaya (vane nalvamatram) agaccham. 
(atha) ksanena [ca] tarugulm(amtaritam) [kriyamanakayamanika- 
niketanam viracya[:Z9i] manes varagrham avataryamanakanthara- 
kam arabhyamanapatakutikam vyavasthapyamanavesyanivesam 
sruyamanaturagahresasatam vadyamanavisramadhakkasatapuska- 
ram anvisyamanasvadusalilasayam uddi[292]syamanavipaniketu- 
vamsam] sena(nivesam drstva) kim ayam mama ("karsanaya ta- 
ta^)vyuhas samayatah ahosvid aryaputra(vyuha) iti (cimtayamtim) 



^ Trichinopoly ed., svddurasdvikalasphuritcP . 

2 Hall's manuscripts A, D, H also oxmt gandhi. 

2 Hall's manuscripts D, H also omxipunar. 

* Srirangam text and Trichinopoly t^., paribhraman prdkrtajana. 

5 Hall's manuscripts A, B, D also omit atha. 

^ Cf. nidrante in Hall's manuscript D. 

"^ Q,i. phalamulddikam in Hall's manuscripts C, D. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts E, F. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 193 

mam [prati] carakathit(odamto durat kiratasenapatir dhavati 
sma). tato ('nyah) kiratasenapatih tadrsa eva (tathabhutaya se- 
naya) 'nvito (mrgayam) gatah^ s5 'pi (tac chrutva dhavati sma. 
[293] athai "kamisalubdhayor grdhrayor iva tayor yuddham asit.) 
tatah (prabhrti) [prati]^arasaradurdina(sthagita)dinakarakirane 
rana[294]karmavisarada(karadur2)otksipta(khadgaMha(ii3)rada- 
lita)subhat(aslisyamanavidyadhari)vibhrame samaradarsan(agata)- 
samcaradanekanabhascaracarana(caranaprakaraviracitat6rana)ca- 
kravale [vetalasamakrantaskandhakabandhacakrakriyamanacaru- 
pracare*] (carac)carubhatakhadgakhamdita(dvipapada)samapta- 
(pisacika)ka[295]rnolukhal(abharane) kautuk(akrstajana^samudva- 
lannamdike) kamdisikabhiruni (praskannaklibajane ranodyataji- 
takasini^) ranakhale (srgalika)srgalaprarthaniyesv amisapimdesv 
iva jihmagadastesv iva (svitradurbhagesv iva) sariresu (nastham) 
kalayamtas samam (dvisatam) dhanusam ca jlv(akarsanam'^) yo- 
dhas cakruh. (tatra) tyagina iva danavamto marganasampatam 
(sahamtah) samrddhavilasina iva srmgar(op)as6bhitah sahema- 
(kaksyas) ca sadarama iva kadallrajitah sadvijas ca nisa(nivaha^) 
iva naksatramalopasobhitah (sarad)divasa [296] iva (sam)ulla- 
sat(padmah) mahamrga babhuh. ut(kupita) iva ksamam mumca- 
mtah payodhaya iva "varta(sobhinah) sormayas ca udyan(6d)de- 
sa iva samallikaksah (kulala)grha iva 'bhinavabhamda(bharinah) 
ratnakara iva sadevamanayah lekha iva semdra(vrddhayah kslba 
iva pana(ii4)bhusitah) turam(gama) [ca] virejuh^. karnabhyam 
srutapar(apavada)bhyam khal5dayasadhuvipattisaksibhyam aksi- 
bhyam (asthane 'pi namata murdhna kirtayata ca 'kirtaniyan 
asyena ca viyuktd) 'ham (distye^^) 'ti harsad iva (ciram nanarta) 
kabamdhah. tatah [krta^^](parihasakene) 'va caksuh pidadhata 

1 Trichinopoly ed., mrgayartham dgatah. 

2 Cf. dviradakaradurotksipta in Hall's manuscript C and dviradakaradiiratarotksipta 
in Hall's manuscripts D, H. 

s Hall's manuscripts C, D also have khadga. 

■* Hall's manuscripts E, F, H also omit vetdla° . . . °pracdre. 

5 Trichinopoly ed. omits kdutukdkrstajana, 

•^ Qi. praskannaklibajane janopaghanajitakd'sini in Hall's manuscript^C. 

' So also Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D. 

^ So also Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, F, G, H. ^ Trichinopoly ed., rejuh^ 

10 So also Hall's manuscript A, and the commentator Jagaddhara. 
1^ Hall's manuscripts C, G also omit krta. 

O 



194 VASAVADATTA 

parapavadasravana[297]bhlrune Va srotravrttim sthagayata son- 
madene 'va vayuvegaviksiptena^ palitamkaranene Va surayosltam 
amdhamkaranene Va yodhanam timirene Va samarapradosasya 
patitene Va vimuktag5trena (kunrpatine Va naksatrapathagamina 
krtakalahene Va krtadhumyarucina rajasene Va vyavahitasatvena 
avinitene Vo 'ddhatena asajjanene Va pihitasatpathena^) ranajena 
(rajdjatena vijijrmbhe^. anamtaram ca narayana iva) [ravanava- 
dham akar5t] kascit [krsna iva] narakacchedam akarsit. kascid 
bauddhasiddhamta iva ksapitasrutivacanadarsan5 'bhavat. kascit 
ksapanaka iva katavrta(vigrah5 'bhavat). kascit (surapa iva pa- 
pata*. kascit suyodhana iva samkitorubhamgah sardjalam) vi- 
vesa. kascit saratalpa(sayya^)gatah bhisma iva [298] (gatayus 
ciram) svasann asit. kascit karna iva (viklababhutamgah^) sakti- 
moksanam akarot. (kasci(ii5)d raghava iva ravanavadham aka- 
rot.) tato vi(hasta)dhvajapatam patatpatakam (vyiihacaribhata- 
kampitakhadgadhenukam tat samastam ubhayam mitho jagama 
hananam) sainyam'^. (tatas ca) yasya "sramas tena munina pu- 
spadikam adaya "gatena^ (yogadrsa^) pratipannavrttamtena tva- 
tkrte mama 'yam asramo bhagna (iti^"' kupitena^^) sila[!299](maya 
putrika^^) bhave 'ti sapta ("smy) aham. (tatah) ksanen(ai "ve 'yam 
varaki) bahuduhkham (anubhavati 'ty anugrahad aryaputrakaru- 
naya ca sa munir yacyamana^^) aryaputra(hasta)spars(avadhikam) 
sap[ant]am akar5t. tatah kamdarpaketuh (srutavrttamtena) sa- 
magatena makaramdena (taya) vasavadattaya ca [300] (samam^*) 

^ Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., niksiptena. 

2 Cf. kunrpatine V« naksatrapathagdmind kalingene 'va krtadkdumydrucind raja- 
sene 'va vyavahitasattvena vinitene V« ' samuddhatend 'sajjanene 'va hatdntarena in 
Hall's manuscript C. 

3 Cf. vijajrmbhe in Hall's manuscript D, Tel. ed. 61, Grantha ed., TricMnopoly ed., 
and Srirangam text. 

* Cf. kaicit surdpadvija iva papdta in Hall's manuscript B. 

5 Cf. falpa'sayo in Hall's manuscripts A, B, D, E, F, G, H, and the commentator 
Jagaddhara. 

^ Cf. viklavtbhuta° in Hall's manuscript D. 

' Cf. tat samastam ihd'srame mitho nidhanam jagama sdinyam'm Hall's manuscript 
D and tatah samastasdinyam anyonyam nidhanam avdpa in Hall's manuscripts A, B. 

^ Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., dddya gatena, 

9 So also Hall's manuscript C. i° So also Hall's manuscripts C, D. 

11 Tel. ed. 61 and Grantha ed., kopitena. ^^ So also Hall's manuscripts A, B. 

13 Cf. vardki ''va bahudulikham anubhavati 'ti karundkrsto munir in Hall's manu- 
script D. ** So also Hall's manuscript A. 



A SANSKRIT ROMANCE 195 

svapuram (patallputram) gatva [yatha^jhrdayabhilasitani (suralo- 
kadurlabhani^) sukhani (tabhyam saha) 'nubhavan kalam (anekam) 
ninaya^ 

(sarasvatidattavaraprasadas cakre subamdhus sujanaikabam- 

dhuh 
pratyaksaraslesamayaprapamcavinyasavaidagdhyanidhim pra- 

bamdham. 
kavinam agajad darpo nunam* vasavadattaya 
saktye'Va pamduputranam gataya karnagocaram^. 

iti srikavisarvabhaumasubamdhuviracita 
vasavadatta samapta^.) 

1 Hall's manuscripts C, D, E, F, G also omit yatha. 

2 Cf. suratasukhdni in Hall's manuscripts A, B, C, D, E, F, G. 

3 Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed. add iti vasavadattdkhyo gramthas samdptah, 
* Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed., nityam. 

^ Srirangam text and Trichinopoly ed. omit this interpolation from the Harsacarita. 

^ Trichinopoly ed., sampurnd\ Tel. ed. 6i and Grantha ed., vdsavadattd savydkhyd 
samdpid ; Srirangam text, iti vdsavadattd samdptd ; cf. dkhydyikd in Hall's manuscripts 
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. 



O % 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

In the following bibliography of the Vdsavadattd mere allusions to 
Subandhu and his romance in the general histories of Sanskrit literature 
are intentionally omitted. 

Manuscripts. 

Aufrecht, Caialogus Catalogorum, i. 566, 726; 2. 133-134, 224; 3. 
120, Leipzig, 1 891-1903. 

Editions. 

The Vdsavadattd, a Romance by Subandhu ; Accompanied by Swardma 
Tripdihitis Perpetual Gloss, entitled Darpana, Edited by Fitzedward 
Hall, M.A. Devanagari script. 56 + 300+6 pp. Baptist Mission 
Press, Calcutta, 1859 [Bibliotheca Indica, old series, Nos. 116, 130, 148]. 

srihayagrlvdya namah. srimatd subandhundmnd mahdkavind viracite 
"yam vdsavadattdkhyd mahdkhydyikd sripaccappapdthasdldydm samskrtdn- 
dhropddhydyena vimpmurukrsnamdcdryena sodhitd ogguiuruvenugopdland- 
yakena suryalbkamudrdksaraidldydm mudritd 'sit 1861 samvatsare desatn- 
bare mdrsitithih, Telugu script. 126 pp. (2 pp. with 2 2 distichs in honour 
of Hayagrlva [Visnu], i p. of kosas used in the commentary, 4 pp. of 
summary of story, 119 pp. of text and commentary).^ 

subham astu. srlmannikhilasurhndrddivamditapddakamalasrivdgdevi- 
dattavaraprasddena subamdhundmnd kavikulasdrvabhdumena viracitah vd- 
savadattdkhyah campHprabamdho 'yam dhimatdm arthaparijndndya vyd- 
khydnena sdkam madhurasubbhdsdstrind samsodhyapariskrtak jndnasuryb' 
dayamudrdksarasdldydm tadadhikdrind bhuvanagiri ramgayyasettindmnd 
vdisyacuddmanind mudrdksardir mudrayitvd prakatikrtas san bhuvivijaya- 
tetardm 1862 samvatsaram yepral nela 79 tedi. Telugu script. 115 + i pp. 
(the last page occupied by a Rahasyatrayakdrikd). [For the transcrip- 
tion of this edition see above, pp. 145-195.]^ 

srihayagrlvdya namah. srimatd subandhundmnd mahdkavind viracite 
''yarn vdsavadattdkhyd mahdkhydyikd vdvillardmasvdmisdstrind sarasvatiti- 
ruvemkaidcdryena ca samyak pariskrtd srimaccannapurydbharandyamdnd- 
ydm hindubhdsdsamjivinimudrdksarasdldydm ogguluruvenugopdlandyaka- 
prabhrtibhir etanmudrdksarasdldsdmdjikdih mudritd sati vijayatetardm, 
[Device containing the name of the press in English, Telugu, Grantha, 

1 A copy is possessed by the Library of the India Office, London. 

2 Copies may be found in the Library of the India Office, London, and in my own 
possession. 



198 VASAVADATTA 

and Devanagari characters, and, in English, ' S. Thiruvengadachaniloo, 

V. Ramasawmy Saustry, O. Vanoogopaloo. N. and Co/] i8yo sam 
janvari, Grantha script. 134 pp. (i p. oikosas used in the commentary, 

I p. of names of oflEicials, etc., of the press, 4 pp. of summary of story, 

128 pp. of text and commentary),* 

vdsavadattd mahdkavisuhandhuviracitd tripdthmvardmaracitadarpand' 

khyatikdsahitd vi. e. upddhidhdrind srijivdnandavidydsdgarahhaitdcdry- 
yena samskrtd. kalikdtdydm kdvyaprakdsayantre mudritd. z^ i^T4' 

Devanagari script. 154 pp. (3d ed., 132 pp., Govardhana Press, Cal- 
cutta, 1907.)' 

Vdsavadattd of Subandhu. Edited with a Critical Commentary by T. V. 

Srinivasachariar {Sarasvata — Saranga), Senior Sanskrit Pandit^ St. 
Joseph's College J Trichinopoly ^ and an English Introduction by Mr. G. Kas- 

turiranga Aiyangar^ M.A., Lecturer, Maharaja's College, Mysore. 

Devanagari script. 6 + 1 7 + 1 60 pp. St. Joseph's College Press, 

Trichinopoly, 1906. 

Vasavadatta with Commentary by Pandit R. V. Krishnamachariar 

(Abhinava Bhatta Band). Devanagari script. 5 + 664-359 pp. Sri 

Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam, 1 906-1 908. 

Translations. 

Vdsabdattd. Translated into Bangali by Madun Mohun Tarkalahkar. 
n. p., 1837. [The sole reference to this version which I have been able 
to find is that by Zenker, Bibliotheca orientalis, 2. 319, Leipzig, 1861. It 
was inaccessible to Hall, though he knew that it was said to exist 
(Introd., p. 49).] 

Hall (Introd., p. 29) states that his epitome of the Vdsavadattd (ib. 
pp. 29-43) was 'abridged from a literal version which was first prepared 
of the entire story.' The subsequent fortunes of this manuscript transla- 
tion are unknown to me, and even Mr. Richard Hall, of Wickham 
Market, Suffolk, the son of Fitzedward Hall, has thus far been unable to 
trace it (letter of Nov. 27, 1908). The value of this rendering by the 
first editor of the romance, could it be found, would be too obvious to 
require further emphasis. 

Adaptations. 

Madanamohana Tarkalankara, Vdsavadattd. A Love Tale, in Verse. 
In Bangali. 5 + 258 pp. Calcutta, 1863.^ 

1 A copy is possessed by the Library of the India Office, London. 

2 I have thus far been unable to ascertain the date, pagination, and press of the 
second edition. 

^ A copy is possessed by the Library of the India Office, London. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 199 

Jayagopala Gosvami, Vdsavadaitd. A Tale Adapted from the San- 
skrit Romance of Subandhu. In Bangall. 85 pp. Calcutta, 1861.* 

Vamana Daji Ok, Vdsavadattd Kathdsdra. An Abridged Version of 
Vdsavadaitd, a Sanskrit Romance by Subandhu. In Marathi. 4 + 24 pp. 
Bombay, 1889.^ 

M. T. Narasimhiengar, The Vasavadatta-Kathasara, with Two Appen- 
dices useful to Candidates preparing for University Examinations. In 
132 Sanskrit verses. 1 + 36 pp. Srirangam, 1907. 

Studies. 
Cartellieri, ' Das Mahabharata bei Subandhu und Bana,' in WZKM. 

13- 57-74. 

Cartellieri, * Subandhu and Bana,' in WZKM. i. 1 15-132. 

Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays, ed. E. B. Cowell, 2. 1 21-12 2, 
London, 1873. Contains a brief outline of the plot of the Vdsavadattd, 

Gray, 'The Hindu Romance,' in Princeton University Bulletin, 13. 
99-100. A brief outline of the story of the Vdsavadattd. 

Gray, ' Lexicographical Addenda to the St. Petersburg Lexicons from 
the Vasavadatta of Subandhu/ in ZDMG. 60. 355-368. 

Gray, ' Literary Studies on the Sanskrit Novel,' in WZKM. 18. 39-58 : 
' The Sanskrit Novel and the Arabian Nights,' pp. 39-48 ; ' The Sanskrit 
Novel and the Sanskrit Drama,' pp. 48-54; 'Reincarnation as a 
Novelistic Device,' pp. 54-58. 

Gray, '^ivarama's Commentary on the Vasavadatta,' in JAOS. 24. 

57-63- 

Manning, Ancient and Mediaeval India, 2. 344-346, London, 1869. 
A brief outline of the plot of the Vdsavadattd. 

Mazumdar, 'Who were the Kafikas?' in/KAS. 1907, pp. 406-408. 

Sastrl, 'Some Notes on the Dates of Subandhu and Dih-naga,' in 
JRASBe. I. 253-255. 

Str^hly, ' Un Roman indien. Vasavadatta de Soubandhou,' in Revue 
politique et litt&aire, 44. 305-31 1 : outline of the story of the Vdsavadattd, 
pp. 305-308 ; translation of the introductory stanzas, p. 308 ; translation 
of Kandarpaketu's dream, pp. 308-311. 

Telang, 'Subandhu and Kumarila,' 'mJRASBo. 18. 147-167. 

Thomas, ' Subandhu and Bana,' in WZKM, 12. 21-33. 

Weber, 'Die Vasavadatta des Subandhu,' in Indische Streifen, i. 369-386, 
Berlin, 1868. A revised and enlarged reprint from ZDMG. 8. 530-538. 

Zachariae, ' Bruchstiicke alter Verse in der Vasavadatta,' in Gurupitja- 
kaumudi, Festgabe zum fUnfzigjdhrigen Doctor jubildum Albrecht Weber, 
pp. 38-40, Leipzig, 1896. 

^ A copy is possessed by the Library of the British Museum. 



LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 

The following list of words and meanings occurring in the Vdsavadattd, 
which the St. Petersburg Sanskrit dictionaries either omit altogether ^ or cite 
only from native lexicographers, is condensed from my ' Lexicographical 
Addenda to the St. Petersburg Lexicons from the Vasavadatta of 
Subandhu' {ZDMG. 60. 355-368), and is, at the same time, supple- 
mented by the material from the Madras edition of 1862 (which was then 
unknown to me) and the Srirangam edition of 1 906-1 908, which appeared 
subsequently to the study just mentioned.^ The Hall, Madras, and 
Srirangam texts are here denoted by the letters H, M, and S respectively, 
but the latter two are cited only when they present words or meanings 
not found in the edition of Hall. An asterisk {*) prefixed to a word or 
meaning denotes that the St. Petersburg dictionaries cite only from 
Sanskrit lexicographers, and a small circle (°) similarly prefixed implies 
that the word or meaning in question is entirely omitted by the St. 
Petersburg lexicons. The numbers within the parentheses refer to pages 
and lines respectively of the editions employed. 

a 
*a (H 113, i): Visnu.^ 
amsuha (M 67, 6 ; S 212, i): °ray, beam of light. 

^ It should be noted in this connexion that a complete index to the Vasavadatta 
was prepared by Aufrecht and placed for a time at the disposal of Bohtlingk, who 
excerpted from it what he deemed most important for his dictionary {Sanskrit- 
Worterbuch in kiirzerer Fassung, 5. Introd., p. i, St. Petersburg, 1884). 

2 Similar lists of words and meanings supplementary to those given in the St. Peters- 
burg lexicons have recently been prepared by Meyer for the Kuttanhnata and Samaya- 
mdtrkd (in his Altindische Schelmetibiicker, 2. 151-156, Leipzig, 1903), by Schmidt for 
A.'^'^diyyiL^^fi.iSi^sKuvalaydnandakdrikd in his translation of the work (p. 147, Leipzig, 
1907), by Jahn for the Sdurapurdtia {Das Saurapurdna, pp. 194-195, Strassburg, 1908), 
by Schmidt and Hertel for Amitagati's Subhdsitasanddha {ZDMG. 59. 266-267), 
by Schmidt for Rama's Manmathonmathana {ZDMG. 63. 411), by Oster for the 
Bhojaprabandha (in his Die Rezensionen des Bhojaprabandha, pp. 15-17, Darmstadt, 
1911), by myself for Rajasekhara's Viddha'sdlabhanjikd {JAOS. 27. 7), and by Hertel 
- for Hemacandra's Parisistaparvan {ZDMG. 62. 361-369) and the Fancatanfra 
{Fancatantra, ed. Hertel, pp. 291-295, Cambridge, Mass., 1908). By far the most 
important collection in the present connexion, however, is Thomas's ' Two Lists of 
Words from Bana's Harsacarita,' iny^y^^. 1899, pp. 485-517, a list closely analogous 
to the one here presented from the Vasavadatta. A similar study of the lexicography 
of Bana's Kddambari\% still a desideratum. 

2 Professor Otto Franke (card of Oct. 14, 1906) kindly calls my attention to 
Bhagavadgtta, 10, 33, where Krsna (Visnu) says : aksardnatn akdrd''smi, 'of letters 
I am the A.' 



LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 201 

akir/aniya (M 114, 3; S 354, 6): °unpraiseworthy. 

a^sa (H 72, 3): ^conduct. 

*agaru{M 5^,6; 67,10; 84,5; 89,1; 8213,4; 287,4; 298,4): 
Amyris Agallocha, aloes-wood (also in Pancatanira^ 46, 5). 

agddha (H 24, 2) : °free from greed. 

^agranthin (H 113, 2): pure-hearted. 
. agresara (H 23, 3) : °friend. 

ahkana (M 72, 9 ; 83, 5 ; S 283, 4) : ^court (faulty writing for ahgana). 

acakra (H 112, 2): °without guile. 

ajdpdla (H iii, i): (i) *goatherd; (2) °elder brother of Rama; 
(3) °clinging to passion. 

°anc-\'ava \avdncant\ (H 172, 3): to bend down. 

ancana (H 213, 2): °going, movement. 

°a/tfamyas/d (H. 46, i): excessive thinness. 

atimukiata (H 136, 2): (i) "completely emancipated; (2) ^Gaertnera 
racemosa, Roxb., a beautiful and hardy creeper, distinguished for the 
fragrance and beauty of its blossoms. 

anahgatd (H 128, 2): "lack of allegiance. 

^anatimaya (M 9, 2) : (i) without /?>«/-fishes ; (2) unbending. 

ananifa (H. 13, i): °many. 

°ana/iiMaya (S 32, 2) : (i) having no fear of one's subjects; (2) having 
no fear of serpents (cf "^ahibhaya : fear of one's subjects). 

°anubandhatd (fi 171, 3): series. 

anuhandhin (H 147, 2) : "author of a book. 

andhahkarana (H 297, 2): "cause of blindness. 

°apadarsana (H 76, i): deprived of sight. 

apardjiid (H 246, 2): *Clitoria ternatea, Linn., a cultivated flowering 
plant, chiefly blue and white in colour. 

^ahhutatd (H 204, i) : untruth. 

amdra (H 280, i) : "not murderous. 

°amharatva (H 127, 3): (i) cloudiness; (2) clothing. 

amhhdja (M 106, i ; S 335, 2): "name of a son of Visvamitra. 

°ambhojacdmara (H 270, i) : Blyxa octandra, Linn., an aquatic, grass- 
like plant, with large, white blossoms. 

^amradiman (H 213, i) : hardness. 

amldna (H 135, 2; 248, i): * Gomphraena globosa, Linn., globe- 
amaranth. 

arkaparna (M 102, 7): "^Asclepias gtgantea, Willd., a large, ramous 
shrub. 

°ardh-\'Upasam [upasamrddhd] (M 109, 7) : to be constant, to last. 

ardhacandra (H 89, i) : *eye in the plume of a peacock. 



(102 VASAVADATTA 

*ardhaiaphara (H 99, 2): demi-carp, a sort of fish of uncertain 
identification. 

'^arpaka (H 53, 3) : causing to go, delivering over, yielding. 

^avakdta (H 99, i): crane. 

avadhika (M 115, 8 ; S 357, 5) : ^having as a limit, up to, until. 

avalopana (H 72, 3): ^sunset. 

avasyaya (H 23, i): *pride. 

^avastrikrta (H 196, i): (i) wile of an evil woman; (2) made a 
miserable woman. 

"^avKt (M 46, I ; S. 136, 3) : a certain hell. 

asahkhya (H 112, i) : °weapon, arrow. 

^asitamukha (H 278, 3): a variety of white goose with black head and 
legs. 

"^astimita (H 268, i): restless, tremulous. 

^ahasa (H 33, i) : sorrow. 

"^ahitundika (M 6, 6; S 26, i): snake catcher, snake charmer. 

^ahimakara (H 278, 3) : sun. 



dkarsaka (H 197, i): "attractive to women. 
^dghrdtuka (H 161, 3): breathing forth. 
ddamhara (H 181, 3): *beginning, commencement. 
dtarpana (H 183, 3; 267, 3): "pigment, cosmetic. 
dtmaghosa (H 74, i): "self-praise. 
dnanda (M 91, i): "Brahma. 
drikd (H 244, 4): "recourse, summons. 
^dvirlhuti (H dd, i) : manifestation. 
dm (H 13, 2) : "west. 

dsraydsa (H 28, 2 ; 70. 5): (i) "longing for hermitages; (2) "refuge- 
devouring. 



^itar (H 213, 3): going to, attaining, possessing. 

^indrakopa (M iii, 4): cochineal (faulty writing for indragopa), 

indrajdlin (H 67, i) : "enchanting, bewitching. 

^indravrddhi {yi 113, 14): sort of horse (cf. ""indravrddhika'. sort of 
horse). 

*indrdnika (H 244, 3): (i) °wife of Indra; (2) ^ Asparagus racemosus, 
Willd., racemose asparagus. 

indrdni (H 114, 3 ; 135, i) : (i) *mode of coitus (cf. Schmidt, BeitrUge 



LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 203 

zur indischen Eroiik, pp. 530-531, 564, 570, Leipzig, 1902); (2) '^Vitex 
rugundo, Linn., a small tree. 

u 

*uccatdla (H 102, 4): °lofty height. 

uccdihsravas (H 73, i) : °deaf. 

ujjvala (M 40, 3; S 121, 2) : *passion, love. 

utkalikd (M 86, 4 ; S 294, i) : °name of a girl. 

*utkuta (M 36, 4) : °sort of fish. 

uipala (H 42, 4; 134, 3): (i) *fleshless; (2) "sort offish of uncertain 
identification. 

^utsekita (M 109, 11 ; S 344, i): proud, haughty. 

"^uddandapdla (H 99, 3) : sort offish of uncertain identification. 

^uddandavdla (M 3 7, 6 ; S 1 1 2, 5) : sort of fish of uncertain identifi- 
cation (variant spelling of the preceding word). 

udroka (H 24, 2) : ^light on an elevated place. 

ullalana (S 168, 3): °act of swinging. 

e 

^ekahandhu (H 9, i): only brother. 

k 

ka (H 77, 2) : *hair. 

*kamsdrdti {U. 286, 2): Krsna. 

kaccha (M 36, 4) : °bristle. 

kancukin (H 288, 3): *serpent (also in Harsacarita, 108, 11). 

kaia (H242,i; 297, 8): *corpse (cf. Zachariae, Beitrdge zur indischen 
Lexicographic, p. 34, Berlin, 1883, and especially Zupitza, Die german- 
ischen GuUurale, p. 107, Berlin, 1896). 

kataka (H 216, 4): *capital, metropolis. 

^katapala (H 75, 2): (i) flesh of a corpse; (2) breaking of an 
agreement. 

kantaka (H 18, i): ^informer, tell-tale. 

""kathakdy \_kathakdyatl\ (M 92, 7 ; S 306, 5): to become a narrator. 

kadalikd (M 89, 6 ; S 300, i) : ^'name of a girl. 

*kadalt (H 295, 6): banner borne on an elephant. 

kanaka (M 64, 17 ; S 199, i): '^Buteafrondosa, dhak-\XQQ. 

^kapika (H 266, 2): monkey. 

kabandha (H 42, 3 ; loi, 3): * water. 

^kabarikd^M. 61, 2; S 186, i): hair. 

kamala (H 205, i): "receptacle of bliss {ka: joy + *wa/(/)<2 : recep- 
tacle). 



1^04 VASAVADATTA 

karaka (H 150, 2): *hand. 

karana (H 125, 4) : °cleavage. 

*kariana (H 129, i) : spinning (cf. krntana below). 

karpara (H 277, 3): *skull. 

° karma (M 51, i): silk (cf. krmi: worm). 

*kalakantha (H131, 3; 263, 2): Eudynamis orientalis, koel, Indian 
cuckoo. 

kalatraia (H 236, 2): ^possession of hips and loins (cf. kalatra: hips, 
pudenda, Kuitammata, 295). 

*kaldhkura (H 142, 4): name of a man. 

kalihga (S 355, 7) : *fork-tailed shrike. 

kdnta (H 267, i): ^destroyer of bliss {ka: joy + an/a: end). 

kdntdra (H 23, 3): °famine. 

kdleya (M 69, 11 ; S 222, 2) : (i) *safFron; (2) *liver. 

kdvyd (H 12, 2) : *epithet of a female demon. 

kdstha (H 176, 3): °eminence, prosperity. 

°kimniira (M 56, 2): variegated (Prakritism for kirmtra). 

*kildla (H 219, 2): water. 

ku (H 201, i): °wife. 

kuhja (M 36, 4 ; S 109, 2) : *jaw (cf. Zachariae, Beitrdge zur indischen 
Lexikographie, p. 32, Berlin, 1883). 

kunjara (H 201, i): *hair. 

kutikrta (M 103, 7; S 329, 5): °crooked. 

^kup'\'Ud \utkupitd\ (M 67, 12 ; 113, .11 ; S 354, i): to be angry. 

*kuruta (M 88, I ; S 296, 3) : °unseemly noise. 

^kulagraha (M 84, 9) : palace (Prakritism for kulagrha). 

^kuhakuhdrdva (M 102, 9; Trichinopoly ed., 83, 5) : confused noise. 

°kuhdkuhdrava (Tel. ed. 61, 58, 8; Grantha ed., 58, 5): confused 
noise (variant spelling of the preceding word). 

*kuhumukha (M 60, 7 ; S 185, i): Eudynamis orientalis, koel, Indian 
cuckoo. 

°krkaldsafd (H. 2'j ^, i): lizardhood. 

krfi (H 210, 2): ^wealth (cf. Zachariae, op. cit. p. 33, onkrta: fruit, 
reward). 

krntana (M 51, 6) : ^spinning (cf. '^kariana above). 

krsnavartman {H 2S, 2 ; 176,3): *rascally. 

^ketakikd (H 231, 5) : name of a girl. 

°keddrikdkosttkd (H 284, 2) : enclosure of a field. 

^kokapriyatamd (H 53, 3) : female of the Cascara ruiila, Pallas, the 
Brahminy or ruddy duck. 

*konapa (M 93, 9) : °sort of demon (faulty writing for kdunapa). 



LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 205 

*krakacacchada (H 285, i): Pandanus odoratissimus, Linn., screw-pine. 

ksana (H 173, 5 ; 229, 3) : °night. 

hanadUa (H 229, 3) : °husband. 

^kstnatard (H 56, 3) : extreme emaciation. 

ksudrd (H 169, 2): *courtesan (also in Kutiammata, 439). 

*ksudrdnda (M 109, i): shoal offish. 

kh 

*khagesvara ijoi 262),6): °Garuda. 

khanddhhra (H 114, 2): *sort of erotic bite (cf. Schmidt, Beiirage 
zur indischen Erottk, pp. 504-505, Leipzig, 1902). 
°kharatd{M%^, 6; S 293, i): roughness. 
kharma (H 127, 2): *courage, manhood. 

g 

*gananiya (H 235, 2) : that should be reckoned. 
*gantkdrtkd (H 244, 4) : Premna spinosa, Roxb., a small tree. 
ganda (S 309, i) : (i) *stud in a horse's trappings ; (2) *rhinoceros. 
^garghana (Grantha ed., 48, 12) : rubbing (variant spelHng of °ghar- 
ghana, M 45, 4). 

^gal+sam [sahgalanf] (H 253, i): to drip. 

*gdnikya (M 40, 2 ; S 121, 2) : group of courtesans. 

gdndhdra (H 127, 2) : *minium, red lead used as a cosmetic. 

*gdmuka (S 348, 4) : ^traveller. 

gum (H 15, i) : *Bhima. 

°gulmaid (H 93, i) : (i) bushiness ; (2) spleenfulness. 

*guhin (M 104, 2) : forest. 

gocaratd (H 272, 2) : ^range. 

godd (M 61, 3 ; S 186, 2) : °earth-giving. 

godhumaka (M iii, 15): ° wheat. 

gopati (M 100, 3 ; S 323, 2) : *epithet of Indra. 

gopdla (M 41, 5 ; S 125, i): ^eloquent. 

gdudheya (M 103, 11): *lizard. 

'^gdudhera (H 265, 2) : lizard (variant spelling of the preceding word). 

gdurika (H 88, 2 ; 89, 3) : °ruddy. 

gH 

ghanidravd (H 106, 2) : *a variety of Crotularia. 
ghanasdra (H 262, 2): *a sort of tree. 

^gharghana (M 45, 4) : rubbing (variant spelling of '^gargham, Grantha 
ed., 48, 12). 



^o6 VASAVADATTA 

^ghd + ud \udghdta] (M 1 1 1 , 1 2 ) : to dig up (faulty writing for khd + ud) . 
^ghdtaniya (H 293, i) : to be killed. 
°ghumughumdyita (Trichinopoly ed., 90, 3) : humming. 



^catdtkdra (M 93, 11 ; S 311, 2) : crackling noise (variant spelling of 
*catatkdrd). 

candrarekhd (M 52, i ; S 150, 2): °golden diadem. 

capald (H 223, 2) : °name of a girl. 

capaldy \capaldyati\ (H 223,2): °to tremble. 

car ana (H 278, 3) : °ray, beam of light. 

'^cdturikd (H 57, 2) : °pillow, cushion. 

cdrana (H 264, 3) : °passage. 

^cdribhata (M 115, 2 ; S 356, 8): soldier (variant spelling of °<:<zr2^Mi7/(2). 

cdru (M 106, I ; S 335, 2) : °name of a son of Visvamitra. 

°cdrubhata (1X43,1; 294, 4): (i)a sort of fish of uncertain identifi- 
cation ; (2) soldier (variant spelling of °cdribhata), 

citra (M 52, 2 ; S 150, 3): ^Jonesia Asoca, ushoka-txeQ. 

citraka (M 52, 2; S 150, 3) : *sectarial mark on the forehead. 

cirajivin (H 120, 6): probably '^Terminalia tormentosa, Roxb., saj-iXQQ. 

^cuncura (M 103, 9 ; S 329, 6) : eager, desirous. 

cumhaka (H 198, i) : *addicted to kissing. 

eh 

chattra (H 44, 3) : probably *Asdepias acida, Roxb., soma-plant. 

J 

jaghanya (H 77, i) : '^memhrum virile, 

^jarjharita (M 17, 9) : broken, shattered (variant spelling of /-^^r;'>^^r/'/(2). 
yalanakula (H 277, 2) : otter. 
°jalamanuja (H 279, i) : merman. 
jivd (H 295, 4) : *bow-string. 



jh 

yhandtkdra (M 20, 7 : S 63, 3) : jingle (variant spelling oi jhanatkdra). 

t 

° fahkdr in (S ^10, 4): hissing (cf. fdnkarin: making the sound fa, in 
Harsacarita, 161, 3). 



LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 207 

d 

°di-\-samud[samuddtyamdna,samuddayamdna] (M 18, i; S 55, i) : to 
fly up together. 

^dhdkini (M 94, i): sort of female demon (variant spelling oi ddhnt), 

t 

/^/^ (H 218, 4): ^proximity. 

^taiit (M no, 12) : lightning (faulty spelling for tadii), 
'^tata (H 77, 2) : °sound of the lute and similar instruments. 
tathdgata (H 114, 3): (i) °homely ; (2) "customary. 
^Hthin (H in, 2) : lover. 

^iiryaggatini^ 147, 3): (i) going in crooked ways; (2) breeze, wind. 
iulddhdra (H 174, i): *merchant (cf. /^/^^/^ar^z : merchant, *S'(z;;za>/«- 
mdtrkd, 7. 21 ; 8. 45). 

°tulira (M 108, 5): meaning unknown (H lulifa; S tulita). 
*trdtt{U^^, 8; 8154,3): beak. 

d 

*^^ (H 199, i): wife. 

°dattakapdta (H 65, 5) : with closed doors. 

damanaka (H 39, 2; 135, i): (i) °hero, champion; (2) °foe. 

darpaka (H 53, 3; 209, i): °burning. 

dahana (H 28, 2): °consumer, destroyer. 

ddnavant (H 295, 5): °shedding ichor (also in Harsacarita, 200, 18). 

ddra (H 221, 5): °love (cf. ddrikd: courtesan, Subhdsitasamdoha, 24. 
14). 

ddsz (H 169, 2) : *courtesan. 

dtvyacaksu (H 143, i): (i) °Krsna ; (2) *blind. 

^duratikramatd (S 326, 3) : state of being hard to overcome. 

duhsasana (H 20, 2) : °evil instruction. 

°dyusrna (H 233, 4): Crocus sativus, Linn., common saffron (faulty 
spelling for ghusrna; cf. Zachariae in KZ. 27. 577 [card of Professor 
Zachariae, June 14, 19 10]). 

^dravas (H 223, 2): running, course. 

'^drdvaka (H 198, i): (i) magnet ; (2) causing to run. 

drona (H 148, i ; 169, 5 ; 176, 2 ; 247, 2) : *crow (also in Harsacarita, 
89, 12). 

"^dronakdka (M 68, 5 ; S 216, i) : raven. 

dvijapati (H 252, 3) : *moon. 



ao8 VASAVADATTA 

dvijarajan (H 273, i) : *^Brahman of superior excellence. 
dvyartha (H 195, i): "uncertain, hesitating. 

dh 

^dhumya (S 355, 7) : fork-tailed shrike (misprint for "^ dhumydtaT), 
dhrtardstra (H 15, i): "ruler of a kingdom, 

n 

nagaramandana (H 142, 4) : "adornment of a city. 

^natimant {^ 181, 2): bowed, bent. 

nada (H 91, 3): "sound, noise. 

nadina (H 25, i): "lord of rivers, ocean (also in Parmstaparvan, 7, 

138). 

nandighosa (H 142, 2): *name of Arjuna's chariot (cf. Zachariae, 
Beitrdge zur indiscken Lexikographie, p. 40, Berlin, 1883). 

nabhascara (H 267, 6): *bird. 

nahhoga (H 23, 3) : "god, deity. 

nay a (H 284, 2): *sort of game, chess (?) or backgammon (?) (cf. 
Thomas, 'The Indian Game of Chess,' in ZDMG. 53. 364). 

^naraksana (M 78, 3; S 264, i): destruction. 

^naruka (M iii, 14): vulture. 

narmada (H 271, i) : *jester, buffoon. 

nava (H 27,3): *praise, glory. 

navaka (H 7, 4): (i) "despised; (2) "unknown. 

7idndika (M 113, 4) : "shout of praise. 

^ndndika (H 295, i) : "possessed of laudations. 

'^ndrikeli{^\l*j,(i)\ cocoanut-tree. 

ndstikatd (H 18, i): "poverty. 

wzrr/z (H 122, 3): "devoid of envy. 

^nirharha (H 288, 5) : with fallen or drooping plumes. 

^nirlaksa (S 80, 4) : aimless. 

nisdtana (M 88, i): "paring, sharpening. 

^msirimsatva (H 129, 2): (i) swordship; (2) cruelty. 

nyagrodha (H 104, 3) : "underbrush, 

P 

'^pancdhgulaya (H 183, 3) : handful. 

^patakutika (H 291, i): tent. 

'^paiuprahha (H 286, i): beautiful. 

^panyavidhikd (M 70, 3) : shop (faulty writing iox party aviihikd). 

paiiraratha (H 42, 3) : "arrow. 



LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 209 

^pattrikd (S 205, i): leaf letter. 

pathya (H 248, 2): °health. 

padma (M 113, 11 ; S 353, 5) : °drop of water. 

°paydja (M 86, 5 ; S 294, i) : lotus. 

^parandaka (M 23, 16): barrier to separate elephants (misprint for 
varandaka ?). 

°parzmalay \partmalaya] (H 233, 2) : to perfume. 

°parihdsaka {^ 11/^, 4', 8355,3): smiling. 

^paruvakd (M 22, 8 ; S 69, 4) : casket. 

palala (H 156, i): *flesh, meat. 

paldia {H 133, 2 ; 246, 3) : *demon. 

pallava (H 38, 4 ; 114, 3) : (i) *love; {2) *paramour. 

pallaviiaQli'^*],!)'. *reddened. 

°pdmsulay [pdmsulayd] (M 89, 2) : to make dusty. 

pdira (H 47, 3) : ^'body. 

°pdldvaM (M 56, 7) : fishhook. 

pdli [H 139,5; 190, 5): (i) *beautiful (at the end of compounds); 
(2) "hilt of a sword. 

pundarika (H 42, 4) : *white parasol. 

puspaketu (H III, 2) : °mass of flowers. 

'^purvatana (M 8, 2): former, ancient. 

*pecakin (H 178, i): elephant. 

peia (M 104, 2) : *open hand with outstretched fingers. 

^pracayatd (H 266, 6) : mass, quantity. 

^prapdtatd (M 104, 6 ; S 331, 6) : state of having a shore (cf. prapdta : 
*shore). 

prabdla (H 114, 2 ; 247, 2): °long hair. 

°pravdlamani (H 114, 2): sort of erotic bite (cf. Schmidt, Beitrage 
zur indischen Erotik, pp. 502-503, Leipzig, 1902). 

prasuna (M 27, 2 ; S 84, 2) : *fruit. 

ph 

°pkala/d (R 2^S, ^): fruition. 

b 
handhura (H 165, 5) : *undiform, wavelike. 

haldri (M 94, 5) : °owl (cf. kdkavdirin, vdyasdniaka : owl, foe of 
crows). 

bahulatd (H 88, 3) : ^blackness. 

^bdha (H 146, 2): arm (cf. Zachariae, Beitrage zur indischen Lexiko- 
graphie, p. 57, Berlin, 1883). 

P 



aio VASAVADATTA 

bh 

"^bhahguratva (H128, 2): (i) break ; (2) crookedness. 
bhadra (H 94, 2): ^Cyperus rotundtis, Linn., galangal. 
Hhihhatsa (M 93, 10): loathsome (faulty writing for bzbhatsa). 
MJr« (H 295, 2): *jackal. 

%hujahgatd (H 273, 2): (i) serpenthood; (2) profligacy (also in 
Harsacarita, 88, 2). 

°bhujahgapatt {M. 92, 7): prince of serpents, the cosmic serpent Sesa. 

bhujisyd (H 171, 2): *courtesan (also in Kuttammata, 332, 420). 

hhuvana (H 32, i ; S 301, 5) : (i) *water ; (2) *house, palace, 

°bh.utatd (H 204, i): truth. 

hhrhgardjan (H 260, 3) : *sort of large bee. 

°bhramanaka (M 28, 2 ; S 86, 3): wandering, roaming about. 

bhramara (H 40, i) : (i) *lover; (2) °curl on the forehead. 

bhrdmaka (H 198, i): (i) *magnet; (2) °seducer of women. 

m 

ma (H 224, 3) : *Siva. 

^makardhka (M 89, 1 1 ; S 300, 6) : Kama, the god of love. 

makarikd (M 89, 1 1 ; S 300, 5) : ''name of a girl. 

^mahjlray \manjlraya\ (H 89, 6 ; S 299, 4) : to anklet it, hasten, go. 

manjughosd (M 52, 3 ; S 150, 4) : *name of an Apsaras. 

mandaldgra (H 200, i) : *crooked sword. 

matsard (H 72, 2): *fly. 

matsya (M 106, 2 ; S 335, 3) : °name of a son of Visvamitra. 

°»2«/jy^/«/n'-^^ (H 287, 3) : sort of bird. 

madana (H 87, 2) : '^Datura metel, Roxb., white thorn-apple, 

madanaialaka (fi 106, ^) : *aphrodisiac. 

°madayant (H 213, 3): intoxicated. 

^madhusriya (H 139, i): vernal beauty. 

martci (M 89, 8) : °black pepper. 

maruvakai^ 135, i): (i) probably *On';««/?z basih'cum, Linn., common 
basil; (2) *crane from the district of Maru. 

marman (H 112, i) : °secret, mystery. 

»?<z/^j^'«(H2 2 4, 3): (i)°love; (2)°moon. 

w«//«;2<%-<z (H 89, i): °sort of elephant. 

mahdtapasvin (H 281, 2): ''great ascetic. 

""mahdnata (H 181, 3): ^iva (of. Zachariae, Beitrdge zur indischen 
Lexikographie, p. 68, Berlin, 1883). 

^mahisdksa (M 57, 9; S 172, i): sort of bdellium. 



LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX an 

^md (H 122, 5; 211, i; M 78, 2 ; S 264, i): (r) Laksmi; (2) utter, 
entire. 

°mdmsalay [nidmsalita] (H 177, 3) : to make stout or strong. 

°mdtahgikd (H 231, 3) : name of a girl. 

mdnusyaka (^222, \)\ *multitude of men. 

mdlaya (H 23, 2): °red lotus. 

mukta (H 89, i) : ^missile. 

muktd (M 106, 5 ; S 336, 2) : *courtesan. 

muktdmaya (H 35, 2) : °free from disease. 

mud-\-d \dmumude\ (H 215, i) : °to rejoice exceedingly. 

muni {^ 136, 2): *Mangi/era indica, Linn., mango-tree. 

°murchdgrhita (H 156, 3): seized with faintness. 

'^mrtyuphala (H 91, 3) : fruit of the Trichosanthes palmata, Roxb.. or of 
the Musa sapienium, Willd. 

°mrdiman (M 81, 3) : softness. 

^meldmanddy \meldvianddyate\ (M 92, 7): to become an inkwell (de- 
nominative from ^meldmandd : inkwell). 

^mradistha (H 169, 4): softest, very soft. 

y 

yantrana (H 136, 3) : (i) ^'feather-guard on an arrow ; (2) *protection, 
yavasa (H 77, 2): °skill. 

r 

*ra (H 213, 3) : fire, heat. 

raktamandalatd (H 230, 3) : (i) °state of having a red disc ; (2) °state of 
possessing devoted adherents. 

^rajordjan {M8i,2; 8275,1): Kama, the god of 

""ralita (M 86, 7) : beautiful (by-form of lalita). 

°rasamayant (M 82, i): (i) delightful; (2) full of desire. 

°rdgatd (H 128, i) : (i) a certain musical mode ; (2) affection, love. 

rdgiid (H 129, i) : ^redness. 

rdjasa (H 203, i): ''passionateness. 

""rdjd (M 57, II ; S 172, 4): parched grain (by-form of Idjd for the 
sake of paronomasia). 

ripu (H 199, 2) : °cowife. 

runda (M 23, 15) : '^staff of a balance. 

rupa (H 144, 2) : *wild beast. 

1 

lamha (M 41, 2 ; S 124, i): "section of a book (abbreviation oi lam- 
baka; cf. Lacote, Essai sur Gtinddhya ei la Brhatkathd, pp. 220-221, 
Paris, 1908). 

p 2 



212 vAsavadattA 

/qya (K 224, ^): °house. 

Idsaka (H55, i): *peacock. 

°ltptkardy \lipikardyatf\ (M 92, 7 ; S 306, 5) : to become a scribe. 



°val-\-sa7nud [samudvalan] (M 113, 4) : to rise up together. 

*vdn'{H. 199, i): speech, eloquence. 

varum (H 26^1, i): °water. 

vdstuka (S 158, 2) : ^inhabitant of a city. 

vikaca (H 64, 3) : ^'the planet Venus. 

*vicikila (M 55, 5; 56, 4; S 164, i; 166, 3): Jasminum Samhac^ 
Arabian jasmine (variant spelling of vicakila). 

vidagdha (H 128, i): °libertine. 

vidyddhara (H 14, 3): °receptacle of wisdom. 

°vini'rmdka (M 20, 8 ; S 63, 3) : liberation, emancipation. 

^vimalikrta (M 3, 6) : cleansed. 

virdma (H 22, i) : "absence of Rama. 

vildsin (H 115, 3): *serpent (cf. Zachariae, Beitrdge zur indischen 
Lexikographie, P- 30? Berlin, 1883). 

°vilokayant (H 207, i) : solitary. 

visdda (M 67, 5 ; S 212, i): °cloud. 

visesaka (H 212, 2): ^without auspicious signs. 

^visadrsatd (M loi, 14): inequality, unlikeness. 

viratara (H 112, i): *arro\v (cf. Zachariae, op. cit. p. 76). 

^vdihdsika (M 54, i ; S 156, i): buffoon, jester. 

s 

sakuna (H 144, i): °festal song, Holi song. 

° sahkitakarna (M 93, 8) : thief. 

iarana (H 260, i): °refugee. 

°sarmadd (M 91, 6) : name of a river (faulty writing for narmada). 

saldka (H 55, i): *maina bird. 

sdlahhahjikd (H no, i): °a Vidyadhari (less probably, a class of 
heroine; see Lacdte, Essai sur Gunddhya et la Brhaikathd, pp. 222-225, 
Paris, 1908). 

° sikharagatasurydcandramastd (H 90, i) : state of having the sun and 
the moon on the summit. 

°sikharatd (H 85, 3) : state of having a peak. 

h'kharm (H 168, 2): *tree. 

°siihu (Trichinopoly ed., 84, 3) : spirituous liquor (faulty writing for 
Sidhit^ stdhu). 



LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX 213 

^surapdla (M 95, 3 ; S 314, 3) : name of a certain Vaisya. 
sodhana (H 209, 2): °teacher. 

iydmd (M18, 8; S58, i): °night (also in Kaldvildsakdvya, i. 33 ; see 
Meyer, Aliindische Schelmenbucher, 2. 155, Leipzig, 1903). 
sravas (H 150, i) : *ear. 

^svitray \svitriid\ (H 184, 4) : to make leprous. 
^sveiarocis (M 25, 2 ; S 77, 2): moon. 



satpada (H 249, i) : *louse. 



sa (H 296, 4) : *lord. 

samilesa (M 72, 15) : "paronomasia. 

^sahgrahiH (M 6, 5) : capture, seizure. 

^sahjivanikd (M 89, 7 ; S 300, 2) : name of a girl. 

satpaiha (M 43, 3 ; 114, 10; S 130, i ; 355, 9) : ^path of the planets. 

sad-^samd [samdsddt'/aj (H 12, i): °to uphold. 

^saddrdma (H 295, 6) : goodly garden. 

sanlda (M 103, 13 ; S 330, 5): *neighbouring, near. 

sant (S 303, 3) : ^'Brahma. 

^santdpaid (H 165, 3): grief, sorrow. 

sandhydrdga (H 58, 4) : *sort of redness, red lead. 

saprapahca (H 195, i): °full of innuendo. 

'^samdsddya (H 211, 2) : attainable, desirable (cf. sad -f savid above). 

samudaya (M 100, 5 ; S 323, 4): *rising (of the sun). 

^sammohim (M 25, 7) : confusion. 

^sdgarasdyin (H 13, i) : Narayana. 

^sitaiva (H 197, i): bondage. 

sindura (H 247, 2) : *a sort of tree. 

°sugandhavdha (H 147, 3) : (i) bearing perfume; (2) goodly breeze. 

sumukha (H 34, i): *learned, wise. 

suratd (M 87, 4 ; S 295, 6) : °name of a girl. 

surasundari (H 42, 3) : °a sort of fish. 

jarz'(M67, 6; 8212,2): *sun. 

^surydimajd (M 45, 10 ; S 135, 4) : the River Yamuna (Jumna). 

srgdla (H 29, 2): "coward. 

^sduirdma (H 288, 8) : relating to Sutraman (Indra). 

strimaya (H 274, i): "loving women, addicted to women. 

'^sthapuiay [sihaputila] (M 37, 8; S 113, 2): to make uneven. 



a 14 VASAVADATTA 



hamsa (H 36, i ; 113, i): (i) ^slaying, murderous ; (2) °pure. 
hdrikantha (H 149, 4): (i) *possessed of a sweet note; (2) *hand- 
ome neck. 
^ar/« (H 214, 2) : Vrathful. 
hdsa (M 19, 2) : °a certain rdga^ or musical mode. 
^himdnin (H 23, 2): snowy. 

Here also may be noted five verb-forms supplementary to Whitney's 
Roots, Verb-Forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language 
(Leipzig, 1887): itar (H 213, 3), primary derivative from i: to go (cf. 
Lindner, Altindische Nominalbildung, pp. 72-75, Jena, 1878) [not in]; 
acikamaia (H 154, i), aorist oi kam: to love [only Brahmanas cited for 
this form] ; acakdhksat (H 155, i), aorist of kdhks: to desire [only lexi- 
cographers cited for this form]; papdta (H 186, i), perfect oi pat : to 
burst [not in]; and hamsa (H 36, i), primary derivative from han: 
to kill (cf. Lindner, op. cit, pp. iio-iii) [not in]. 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 

INDO-IRANIAN SERIES 

Edited by A. V. Williams Jackson 
Professor of Indo-Iranian Languages in Columbia University 



Volume I. A Sanskrit Grammar for Beginners. With 
Graded Exercises, Notes, and Vocabulary. By A. V. WILLIAMS 
Jackson. In preparation. 

The aim of this work is a practical one ; it is designed to fiimish a book 
for the study of the classical Sanskrit in American and English Colleges 
and Universities. 

Volume 1. Indo-Iranian Phonology, with Special Reference 
to the Middle and New Indo-Iranian Languages. By Louis H. 
Gray, Ph.D., sometime Fellow in Indo-Iranian Languages in 
Columbia University. New York, 1903. 

Cloth, 8vo, pp. xvii + 364, S1.50 net 

A brief statement of the phonetic developments midergone by the principal 
Indo-Iranian languages from the Sanskrit, Avestan, and Old Persian 
through the Pali, the Prakrits, and Pahlavi down to the Hindi, Singhalese, 
New Persian, Afghan, and other Indo-Iranian dialects. 

Volume 3. A Bibliography of the Sanskrit Drama, with 
an Introductory Sketch of the Dramatic Literature of India. 
By Montgomery Schuyler, Jr., A.M., sometime Fellow in 
Indo-Iranian Languages in Columbia University. New York, 
1906. Cloth, 8vo, pp. xi -h 105, S1.50 net 

The design of this bibliography is to give as complete a list as possible 
of all printed and manuscript Sanskrit plays and of articles and works 
relating to the Hindu drama. The introduction furnishes a convenient 
epitome of the whole subject. 



Volume 4. An Index Verborum of the Fragments of the 
Avesta. By Montgomery Schuyler, Jr., A.M. New 
York, 1901. Cloth, 8vo, pp. xiv + 106, $1.50 net 

This index collects and cites all examples of each word found in the 
hitherto discovered fragments not included in Geldner's edition of the 
Avesta. 

Volume 5. Sayings of Buddha : the Iti-vuttaka, a Pali work 
of the Buddhist canon, for the first time translated, with intro- 
duction and notes. By JusTiN Hartley Moore, A.M., Ph.D. 
(Columbia), Instructor in French in the College of the City of 
New York. New York, 1908. 

Cloth, 8vo, pp. XX + 140, $1.50 net 

This volume presents a Buddhistic work not hitherto accessible in transla- 
tion. The introduction treats of the composition and general character 
of the work, the authenticity of certain of its sections, and the chief 
features of its style and language. 

Volume 6. The Nyaishes, or Zoroastrian Litanies. Avestan 
text with the Pahlavi, Sanskrit, Persian, and Gujarati versions, 
edited together and translated with notes. (Khordah Avesta, 
Part I.) By Maneckji NusSERVANji Dhalla, A.m., Ph.D. 
New York, 1908. Cloth, 8vo, pp. xxii + 235, $1.50 net 

The Pahlavi text, here edited and translated for the first time, is the result 
of a collation of seventeen manuscripts and forms an addition to the 
existing fund of Pahlavi literature. The introduction gives an account of 
the MS. material and discusses the relation of the various versions, their 
characteristics, and their value. 

Volume 7. The Da^arupa, a treatise on Hindu dramaturgy by 
Dhanamjaya, now first translated from the Sanskrit, with the 
text and an introduction and notes. By GEORGE C. O. Haas, 
A.M., Ph.D., sometime Fellow in Indo-Iranian Languages in 
Columbia University. New York, 191^2. 

Cloth, 8vo, pp. xlv+ 169, $1.50 net 

This work, composed at the court of King Muiija of Malava in the latter 
half of the tenth century, is one of the three most important treatises on 
the canons of dramatic composition in India. The translation here 
presented is prefaced by an introduction dealing chiefly with the style and 
characteristics of the work and its commentary. The notes include, as 
a special feature, references to parallel passages in all available drama- 
turgic and rhetorical treatises. 



Volume 8. Vasavadatta, a Sanskrit Romance by Subandhu. 
Translated, with an introduction and notes, by Louis H. Gray, 
Ph.D. New York, 1913. Cloth, 8vo, pp. xiii + ^^14, $1.50 net 

This romance is one of the best examples of the artificial and ornate style 
in Sanskrit prose. Besides the translation, the volume will also contain 
the transliterated text of the South Indian recension, which differs to 
a noteworthy degree from that of Hall, and a bibliography. The relation 
of the Sanskrit romance to the Occidental, especially the Greek, will be 
discussed in the introduction, and the notes will include parallels of incident 
in modem Indian and other folk-tales, as well as points of resemblance 
with other Sanskrit romances. 



VOLUMES IN PREPARATION 

In addition to the Sanskrit Grammar for Beginners, the fol- 
lowing volumes are also in preparation : 

The Sanskrit Poems of Mayura, edited with a translation and 
notes and an introduction, together with Bana s Candlsataka 
and Manatuhga's Bhaktamarastotra, by G. Payn Quackenbos, 
A.M., Tutor in Latin, College of the City of New York. 

This volume presents the works of a Sanskrit poet of the seventh century. 
Besides the Suryasataka it includes also the Mayurastaka, printed for the 
first time from the unique birch-bark MS. in the Tiibingen University 
Library. The introduction gives an account of Mayura's life and works, 
and the appendixes will contain the text and translation of the supposedly 
rival poems by Bana and Manatunga. 

Priyadarsika, a Hindu Drama ascribed to King Harsha. Trans- 
lated from the Sanskrit and Prakrit by G. K. Nariman and 
A. V. Williams Jackson, with notes and an introduction by 
the latter. 

This romantic drama on the adventures of a lost princess was supposedly 
written by Harsha, king of Northern India in the seventh century, and is 
now to be pubhshed for the first time in English translation. Besides 
giving an account of the life and times of the author, the introduction 
will deal also with the literary, linguistic, and archaeological aspects of 
the play. . 



Yashts, or Hymns of Praise, from the Khordah Avesta. 
Avestan text with the Pahlavi, Sanskrit, Persian, and Gujarati 
versions, edited together and translated, with notes, by 
Maneckji Nusservanji Dhalla, A.M., Ph.D. 

This volume is a continuation of the edition of the Khordah Avesta begun 
with the Nyaishes in volume 6 of the series and will be uniform with that 
volume in plan and arrangement. 



The following volume, not in the Indo-Iranian Series, is also 
published by the Columbia University Press : 

Zoroaster, the Prophet of Ancient Iran. By A. V. Williams 
Jackson. New York, 1899. 

Cloth, 8vo, pp. xxiii + 314, S3.00 net 

This work aims to collect in one volume all that is known about the great 
Iranian prophet. The story of the life and ministry of Zoroaster is told 
in twelve chapters, and these are followed by appendixes on explanations 
of Zoroaster's name, the date of the Prophet, Zoroastrian chronology, 
Zoroaster's native place and the scene of his ministry, and classical and 
other passages mentioning his name. A map and three illustrations 
accompany the volume. 



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